No fence-sitting: Pakistan ‘ambiguous stance’ angers UAE

Its state minister warns that contradictory views will carry a heavy price

DUBAI/ ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan’s decision to remain neutral in the armed conflict in the Arabian Peninsula has perturbed the allies in a nine-nation military coalition Saudi Arabia has coalesced to smash what it calls an Iranian-backed Houthi rebellion in Yemen. The United Arab Emirates warned Islamabad on Saturday that its “contradictory and ambiguous views on this serious matter will have a heavy price to pay”.

Officially, Pakistan responded cautiously to what UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Muhammad Gargash said on microblogging site Twitter but defence and political analysts say they are surprised at such a ‘threatening statement’ from the diplomat of a friendly country.

“The Arabian Gulf is in a dangerous confrontation, its strategic security is on the edge, and the moment of truth distinguishes between the real ally and the ally of media and statements,” Gargash tweeted, according to the Khaleej Times newspaper.



A resolution unanimously passed by both houses of Pakistan’s parliament on Friday advised the government not to get ensnared in a distant war which could have sectarian overtones. Nevertheless it backed government’s commitment to protect Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, which has so far not been threatened by the conflict.

Gargash’s statement came a day after Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, told Al Arabiya News that Pakistan’s non-participation in the punitive action against Yemeni rebels would not affect ‘Operation Decisive Storm’.

The Saudis wanted Pakistan to join the conflict militarily by sending troops, ships and jets for the coalition. Though the parliamentary resolution is not binding, it has put the government in an awkward position because it has long benefitted from the largesse of the oil-rich kingdom which also employs a 2 million-strong Pakistani workforce.



Gargash said Pakistan was required to show a clear stand in favour of its strategic relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “This is nothing but another chapter of laggard impartial stand,” he said referring to the ‘contradictory and ambiguous’ resolution of the Pakistani parliament.

Tehran seems to be more important to Islamabad and Ankara than the Gulf countries, Gargash added. “Though our economic and investment assets are inevitable, political support is missing at critical moments,” he added.

“The vague and contradictory stands of Pakistan and Turkey are an absolute proof that Arab security — from Libya to Yemen — is the responsibility of none but Arab countries, and the crisis is a real test for neighbouring countries.”



Islamabad was, meanwhile, cautious in its reaction to Gargash’s statement. “We are examining the statement as it is not from the foreign minister, but from his deputy, and we will react once it comes officially from the UAE foreign ministry,” Tasneen Aslam, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, told The Express Tribune.

Conversely, Pakistani politicians minced no words in denouncing Gargash’s statement. The strongest reaction came from the leader of a key politico-religious party. “I regret [the] statement by [the] UAE on Pak role on Yemen. [the] UAE has been found to have foot prints in destabilising Balochistan and Karachi to save Dubai,” Maulana Fazlur Rehaman, who heads his eponymous faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, said in a tweet. The cleric’s spokesman Jan Achakzai added that Gargash’s statement was “undiplomatic against a democratic and sovereign country”.

He said it was wrong to have such expectations from Pakistan. “Strategically, we are with the GCC and Saudi Arabia to extend all legitimate strategic assistance,” he told The Express Tribune. “But obviously we cannot oblige them if tomorrow they ask for nuclear weapons.” Security analysts are a loss to understand Gargash’s ‘threatening statement’. “We are an independent, sovereign nation and cannot be dictated in such a manner,” Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood said while talking to The Express Tribune.

In his assessment the Gulf states would land themselves in serious trouble if they allow their relations with Pakistan to deteriorate. Masood believes Gargash made such a threatening statement because he knows that the Gulf states are employing millions of Pakistanis. “But this will not be easy to resort to any extreme step and expel the Pakistani workforce,” he added.

Political analyst Prof Hassan Askari called it a ‘surprising’ statement from a diplomat. However, he faulted the Pakistani rulers for making a commitment to help the Saudis even before consulting parliament or knowing the will of the Pakistani nation. “The reaction from parliament and people of Pakistan put the government in an awkward position,” Askari told The Express Tribune.

He said the Gulf states have authoritarian regimes and “they expect from our government to take a decision in an authoritarian way” disregarding the will of the people. “This is diplomatic issue and should have been handled diplomatically instead of resorting to emotional statements.”


Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2015.