Post-embargo: Kerry phones Nawaz to discuss Yemen conflict

Sources say the two leaders discussed two key issues

ISLAMABAD:

Hours after the UN Security Council slapped an arms embargo on Houthi rebels, US Secretary of State John Kerry rung up Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the worsening crisis in the Arabian Peninsula. The top American foreign policy wizard is said to have encouraged Premier Nawaz to play an active role in resolving the Yemen conflict.

Secretary Kerry’s phone call came a day after Premier Nawaz said that his country would intensify efforts to find a diplomatic solution. “Pakistan will intensify its diplomatic efforts in the coming days, in consultation with the leadership of Saudi Arabia, to resolve the crisis,” he said in a ‘policy statement’.

A brief statement issued from the Prime Minister’s Office said that US Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Premier Nawaz. “The situation in Yemen came under discussion during the telephone conversation,” it said without giving further details. Sources, however, said that the two leaders discussed two key issues: the UN Security Council resolution on Yemen and Pakistan’s role in developing a regional consensus on Yemen and its support to Saudi Arabia.

In his Monday’s statement, the prime minister reassured the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia in particular, that Pakistan “does not abandon friends and strategic partners, especially at a time when their security is under threat”. He also reiterated his country’s commitment to protect the Saudi territory if it was threatened.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2015.