Summary Yemen situation is extremely complicated, we must unanimously voice our views, says Shah Mehmood
ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Vice Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi has on Monday said that the Saudi media was giving an impression that there were some solid commitments given by Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. He said that the situation of Yemen, and Middle East in general, was extremely complicated and Pakistan must voice its views coherently, reported Dunya News.
Addressing the joint session of the parliament in Islamabad, former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan had special relations with Saudi Arabia and thus the nation wanted Saudi Arabia’s integrity protected but Pakistan must act wisely, keeping in view our regional situation.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the briefing given by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Shah Mehmood said that the house was not given thorough analysis of the situation. He said that the government must analyze whether the Saudi integrity was under threat or not.
“We must also look into whether the air-strikes in Yemen had a legal backing or not. Are these air-strikes sanctioned by the United Nations?” he questioned. He said that we must remember that the situation that was developing in Yemen also signified the tensions between two brotherly Islamic countries. He said that Pakistan is an important member of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and must use this forum for resolving this situation. “Has Pakistan taken any steps to resolve this matter on diplomatic level?” questioned PTI leader.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that he didn’t see a military solution of this matter. “This is not new. This struggle has been going on for decades. Are we keeping the internal ramifications of the matter in our mind?” he wondered.
Vice Chairman PTI said that the elements who always wanted to make full use of the chaos would benefit from this situation. He said that terrorist organization, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was getting stronger in Yemen due to this conflict, according to UN report.
The common Pakistani’s aspirations must not be set aside in this conflict. “Maulana Fazlur Rehman asked why we were bringing Iran into the equation. I must remind him that Iranian foreign office had expressed concerns about Pakistan’s involvement in this conflict and wanted to put forward its own view about this conflict”, he said.
“The views expressed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan and what PTI and its leader Imran Khan believe is almost identical”, he said. He said that Pakistan has a vital relationship with Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries and Pakistan must also keep in mind that Iran, the other party in the conflict, was also a brotherly country.
