Pakistan

Any threat to Saudi Arabia will evoke strong response from Pakistan: army chief

General Raheel witnesses culmination of Pak-Saudi Joint Training Exercise Al-Shibab near Jhelum

Web Desk October 30, 2015

PHOTO: ISPR

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif reiterated on Friday that any threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia will evoke a strong response from Pakistan.

“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong and brotherly relations which have a long history of deep rooted cooperation,” the army was quoted as saying in a statement by the military's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

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General Raheel's comments came during his visit to the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Pabbi near Jhelum, where he witnessed the culmination of “Pak-Saudi Joint Training Exercise Al-Shibab”.

“Al – Shihab focused on counter terrorism training of the special operation forces of Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which included cordon and search operations, airdropping and heli lifting of special forces for operations against terrorist’s acts and their hideouts,” the press release said.

Further, the army chief lauded the dedication, motivation and professionalism of the troops who participated in the joint military drills. “This exercise signifies the joint effort of our two nations against terrorism and we will defeat this menace in all its forms and manifestation,” he added.

Meanwhile, a six-member high-level delegation of the Saudi military, headed by General Mufleh Bin Saleem Al-Otaibi, commander special forces of Saudi Arabia, was also present on the occasion.

Won’t allow proxies to operate on our soil: army chief

Earlier, upon his arrival the army chief was received by Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inspector General Training and Evaluation.

COMMENTS (40)

Dil Dil Pakistan | 8 years ago | Reply No my friend we are not against Iran we are between saudi and Iran we always putting water on fire..iran and Saudi Arabia both are our good friends and brothers.@Alien1:

Ajay | 8 years ago | Reply In no civilised country with a democratic Government do the Chief of Army give public statements. It is the elected Government's job. Looks like Pakistanis still believe in the medieval style rule by Military power rather than welfare society on democratic and secular principles. Al the time flaunting the Muslim brotherhood card is living in falsehood. Saudis are nobody's brothers far less that of the deprived and suffering Muslims of poor countries.

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Faryal | 8 years ago | Reply who think this is a threat to Iran,Pakistan has been the only country to balance relations between KSA & Iran,and it must remain that way.We must look after our own interests more than Iran & KSA,but having good diplomatic relations with both of them is a plus.This is just rhetoric because we didn't send our troops to Yemen & will not do so in the future,this is diplomatic fellating,thats it.

Sunil | 8 years ago | Reply There is a limit for hipocracy. Pakistan is hypocritical and highly exaggerated of Saudi Arabia's sovereignty.

Pak-Indo Bhai-Bhai | 8 years ago | Reply This concept of “brotherly nation” basically means that it is a co-Muslim nation. If all Muslim nations of the world behaved like “brothers”, almost all wars and killings in the world would come to a stop. Imagine that brothers? Right now we are seeing true examples of brotherly love from Iraq to Syria and every country surrounding those two.

ajeet | 8 years ago | Reply Any threat to Baluchistan will evoke a strong response from India

Arijit Sharma | 8 years ago | Reply Likewise, any threat to Japan will evoke strong response from India.

Ravi | 8 years ago | Reply This is an old dialogue, general come up with different new one. Your quotes of the day should not be repeated.

paul | 8 years ago | Reply the 2 countries treat people that aren't moslem like sh*t . both countries have no respect for freedom and human rights . am sure there are many pakistanis leaving pakistan to get to europe .... pakistan is a country with no respect for jews , christians or hindus .

TooTrue | 8 years ago | Reply Why? Are you their indentured slaves? Did the KSA send any troops (useless as they might be) to help you in your moment of need?

Skywalker | 8 years ago | Reply Hail General Sharif - I guess KSA is incompetent and cannot take care of themselves. Is there a video of this grand statement.. *"Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif reiterated on Friday that any threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia will evoke a strong response from Pakistan."* ..Or is it just some publicity stunt? In short, if time comes to save Pakistan on KSA, the motto is "We will save KSA first!" Good going, General!

Schabboo Khan | 8 years ago | Reply Stop it, please! Nobody is threatening Saudi Arabia. These statements sound hollow. Moreover Saudi's have more and better quality fire power than us. Further they are already defending themselves by chopping off peoples heads.

syed & syed | 8 years ago | Reply Saudi Clan is violating the territorial integrity of Yemen for the last 7 months. Saudis are violating the same in Syria, Iraq,Bahrain and and. What General Sahib have to say

Ali | 8 years ago | Reply As usual, we support and form alliances with oppressive, backwards, and dictatorial countries. Why do we have a habit of doing this? Heres a hint to Saudi lovers commenting in this section. Saudi Arabia is NOT a divine country. Its mullahs are NOT divine. So theres no need to suck up to those degenerates. People keep forgetting Saudi Arabia is a terrible place for women and migrant workers. Pakistan wont succeed if we look up to such countries.

Mr. Honest | 8 years ago | Reply Keep up the good work general. KSA has always supported Pakistan overtly and covertly from acquisition of nuclear weapons to monetary assistance. Pakistan should do the same when and if there is need. 2.5 million Pakistanis live and work in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is a regional power and it needs to take sides just as powers do. In this case the support is meant against IS and not Iran, though Pakistan is not scared of Iran neither dependent on it for anything. Pakistan has nuclear weapons, its a much bigger military and man power than Iran or Saudi Arabia. It should support any country as per its own plans and gains. Every country does what it thinks is good, just as Iran has a multi billion dollars military pact with India.

hi | 8 years ago | Reply what? nothing on India or Afghanistan? Must be a slow news day.

Jibran | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistani generals are addicted to Petro dollars.

S.R.H. Hashmi | 8 years ago | Reply I think General Raheel Sharif did just the right thing assuring Saudi Arabia that any threat to it sovereignty and territorial integrity will evoke strong response from Pakistan. This becomes all the more important in the circumstances where both Saudi Arabia and Iran are trying to expand their influence in the region, where pressure on Iran has decreased due to nuclear agreement and with Saddam Hussain’s removal, Iran’s influence has substantially increased in Iraq and all the way up to Syria. And of course, Iran was trying to bring Yemen under its influence as well. All these developments would have made Saudi Arabia feel insecure, and if Pakistan did not offer Saudi Arabia unqualified support, it may have been compelled to align with Israel, which would have been a total disaster for the region. However, our relations with Saudi Arabia and with other states in the Middle East should not be at the cost of Iran which is our neighbour, and with which our relations had been superb in the time of Shah Reza. Unfortunately, after the departure of Shah Reza, our relations with Iran did not remain at the same level, and in fact, these days, India seems to have much stronger relations with Iran as compared to Pakistan. And the main reason for this state of affairs is the anti-Shia militancy in Pakistan which is also aided and abetted by some gulf states, including Saudi Arabia. So, while offering unqualified support to Saudi Arabia, General Raheel Sharif should also pressure Saudi Arabia to stop using Pakistan soil for its proxy war with Iran. In fact, General Raheel Sharif should go a step further and use his influence and persuade both Saudi Arabia and Iran to stop their proxy war which is doing great damage to the Muslim world. In any case, it seems unfair to begrudge our Shia brothers a few states amidst dozens of Sunni states in the region and beyond. Instead of wasting their energies fighting each other, Shias and Sunnis should join hands to fight their real enemies, like so-called Islamic State terrorists for instance. With the massive drop in oil prices, and not much hope of substantial recovery in future, the oil-producing states will see a big drop in their incomes. And that makes it all the more important to stop needless aggression and confrontation and develop an atmosphere of peace and cooperation in the region, and not just between Muslim but all states. Karachi

Ahmad Hassan | 8 years ago | Reply We need the support of Saudi Arabia for balancing act with USA. Without influential friends going become tough. Another good move by GENERAL RAHEEL SHARIF.

Pakistani | 8 years ago | Reply @rk singh: It's weird isn't it... They could be like cousins But in personality, very different

Wasim | 8 years ago | Reply Thus spoke the Foreign Minister

Ali S | 8 years ago | Reply And back to square one.

rk singh | 8 years ago | Reply This guy looks like Saddam Hussain.

raw is war | 8 years ago | Reply @A-No.1: Indian army is not responsible for Umma.

Rex Minor | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong and brotherly relations which have a long history of deep rooted cooperation,” the army was quoted as saying in a statement by the military’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). Brotherly, a load of nonsense! Pakistan has a defense pact with Saudi Arabia againsd fixed yearly tributes which guarantees it. Unless ofcourse if Pakistan military sqawks as was the case in the case of Yemen? Rex Minor

Someone | 8 years ago | Reply @ashish; There's a difference between strategic alliance and appeasement. What your PM and his cronies were doing in UAE was appeasement and loyalty to Arab masters.

Tyggar | 8 years ago | Reply What if Russia bombs Saudi forces for supporting ISIS, who will Pakistan support

Someone | 8 years ago | Reply We have a strong strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia militarily. Pakistan army soldiers are present in many bases around Saudi including Tabuk. No other country has an openly strong cooperation with them than Pakistan.

Ali | 8 years ago | Reply Aren't these the same words used by Nawaz Sharif a few months back. Looks like army chief and government is on the same page contrary to what the media will have us believe.

ashish | 8 years ago | Reply What brotherly relationship. If this kind of brother you have why you need enemy?. A master stroke by slave to appease his master. Even your so called brother didn't support on your hardcore k issues.

3rdRockFromTheSun | 8 years ago | Reply Nice statement - a few questions though :

Is the 'territorial integrity' of KSA under threat? If so, from whom? How much does KSA spend on the defence? What is Pakistan's defence budget? With US bases in KSA, will the US not come to the aid of the Saudis first, should there be a threat to the territorial integrity of KSA? So does Pakistan really have a role to play in 'protecting the territorial integrity' of KSA?

Napier Man | 8 years ago | Reply Why fighting someone else's war..

Khan | 8 years ago | Reply I don't see these gulf people doing anything for Pakistan. Did they even announce any aid or assistance for the Earthquake?

Jahan | 8 years ago | Reply Sorry sir but not from Pakistan. We should stop treating these gulf with so much respect while they go behind our back and fund extremism in pak(wikileaks) we declined their filth war in Yemen and all these gulfs were crying about not helping them. If we didn't learn from Americas war then it means we're still vulnerable from corruption in our government. Be loyal to God and your people not rent a army, if gulf can go deal with india we should open trade with Iran in order to show we're doing business as well we must never have one dependent nation. Make no mistake our people in gulf states are not treated with respect.

Alien1 | 8 years ago | Reply so it is an indirect warning to iran?

Ali Rizvi | 8 years ago | Reply Like a domestic loyal servant.

Hameed | 8 years ago | Reply Is this a threat to Iran? Riyals are apparently as powerful as dollars. Why are we always worried about others while our own country is going down the drain?

pakistani | 8 years ago | Reply We should say something similar re UAE. They are (unjustifiably) sore. But UAE and Pakistan have strong friendship - we should not lose this. Emiratis genuinely care about Pakistan.

A-No.1 | 8 years ago | Reply What happened to the Indian forces dosti visits to KSA. Seems that saner minds in KSA realise that Pakistan is their safe bet and can only be requested and not ordered.

Hameed | 8 years ago | Reply Apparently there is a competition going on, on who is a bigger Saudi phithoo.

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