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Pakistan making diplomatic efforts to resolve Yemen crisis: FO
Mariana Baabar
Friday, April 03, 2015
From Print Edition
27 0 0 0
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is taking a diplomatic initiative to find a peaceful solution to the Yemen crisis calling upon all warring factions to resolve all issues peacefully through dialogue.
According to the Foreign Office, the first step in this regard was a visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Turkey on Friday, so that he can find a way together with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on “how the two countries can helpfully address the issue”.
There was no confirmation of the arrival of the Iranian foreign minister to Islamabad but neither was there any denial by the Foreign Office. Both countries have been in touch over the Yemeni crisis at the diplomatic level.
“Given the excellent relations between Pakistan and Turkey and the personal rapport between the leadership of the two countries, the prime minister and the president of Turkey will exchange views on the situation relating to Yemen”, said the spokesperson at the Foreign Office.
For now at least there is no word of Pakistan joining the military coalition together with Saudi Arabia to fight what the government now calls are “non-state actors”, inside Yemen. Pakistan says that consultations are continuing and its concerned authorities will stay engaged with the Saudi authorities.
Despite this, Pakistan’s flag continues to be displayed together with 10 coalition partners during military briefings in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has not questioned the presence of the crescent and the star.
The spokesperson justified the reason that Pakistan would not be sending any delegation to Iran because initially, it was Saudi Arabia that established contact with Pakistan.“Saudi Arabia has announced a military action in Yemen at the request of Yemen’s legitimate government. I do not see why similar contact is required with Iran,” responded the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that no political party in Pakistan has said that protecting Saudi Arabia or the holy places was not Pakistan’s responsibility, but voices have been raised against sending troops to Yemen.
“First, protecting the holy places is every Muslim’s responsibility. I do not think that any political party has said that protecting Saudi Arabia or the holy places is not our responsibility. I do not think that is the correct reflection what has been said. The advice and views expressed have been against sending troops to Yemen,” she said.
To a query regarding Pakistan’s position that any threat to Saudi territorial integrity would evoke strong response from Pakistan and whether this was a message targeted towards Iran, the spokesperson responded, “The message is not targeted towards Iran. How does Iran come into it? Is this your interpretation of the situation between Saudi Arabia and Iran? This is not our assessment. The situation in Yemen is complicated. There is a history.”
All Pakistanis in Yemen are safe and rumours that some Pakistanis had been killed by Houthi rebels are ‘false’, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which established contact with the remaining Pakistani community for whom efforts are being made so that they can be evacuated safely.
The situation is tense in Mokallah, said the spokesperson at the weekly media briefing, where Wednesday night saw a prison break, and around 175 people were unable to proceed to the port where a Pakistan Navy ship is anchored.
“Once they are embarked, the ship will bring them back directly to Karachi. It is only due to the clashes close to Mokallah where, reportedly, a prison break occurred last night that the operation has got delayed slightly,” she added.
In Sana’a 145 Pakistanis continue to be stranded as first they were reluctant, for reasons best known to them, to join an earlier convoy led by Pakistan’s ambassador, and now refuse to move to the closest port city, Al Hudeida where they could be airlifted or evacuated by sea.
“Flights have not operated from Sana’a airport in recent days because of the ‘no fly zone’ restriction imposed by Saudi Arabia. We are in contact with the Saudi government for an exemption of ‘no fly’ restriction. They had offered ‘no fly’ exemption for Al Hudeida, but we have reiterated our request for Sana’a. The fact that Sana’a airport had been bombed earlier and is partially damaged makes the prospect of a flight more challenging,” explained the spokesperson where small aircraft could be engaged.
The spokesperson said out of 3,000 Pakistanis initially in Yemen, just a few hundred are left, and the embassy could not force people to leave when there was an opportunity.“The mission cannot force people. Some of these people are settled there. They have their businesses and jobs and some of them are married to locals. Some people may have assessed that situation will not deteriorate further but it happened,” she said.
Mariana Baabar
Friday, April 03, 2015
From Print Edition
27 0 0 0
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is taking a diplomatic initiative to find a peaceful solution to the Yemen crisis calling upon all warring factions to resolve all issues peacefully through dialogue.
According to the Foreign Office, the first step in this regard was a visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Turkey on Friday, so that he can find a way together with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on “how the two countries can helpfully address the issue”.
There was no confirmation of the arrival of the Iranian foreign minister to Islamabad but neither was there any denial by the Foreign Office. Both countries have been in touch over the Yemeni crisis at the diplomatic level.
“Given the excellent relations between Pakistan and Turkey and the personal rapport between the leadership of the two countries, the prime minister and the president of Turkey will exchange views on the situation relating to Yemen”, said the spokesperson at the Foreign Office.
For now at least there is no word of Pakistan joining the military coalition together with Saudi Arabia to fight what the government now calls are “non-state actors”, inside Yemen. Pakistan says that consultations are continuing and its concerned authorities will stay engaged with the Saudi authorities.
Despite this, Pakistan’s flag continues to be displayed together with 10 coalition partners during military briefings in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has not questioned the presence of the crescent and the star.
The spokesperson justified the reason that Pakistan would not be sending any delegation to Iran because initially, it was Saudi Arabia that established contact with Pakistan.“Saudi Arabia has announced a military action in Yemen at the request of Yemen’s legitimate government. I do not see why similar contact is required with Iran,” responded the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that no political party in Pakistan has said that protecting Saudi Arabia or the holy places was not Pakistan’s responsibility, but voices have been raised against sending troops to Yemen.
“First, protecting the holy places is every Muslim’s responsibility. I do not think that any political party has said that protecting Saudi Arabia or the holy places is not our responsibility. I do not think that is the correct reflection what has been said. The advice and views expressed have been against sending troops to Yemen,” she said.
To a query regarding Pakistan’s position that any threat to Saudi territorial integrity would evoke strong response from Pakistan and whether this was a message targeted towards Iran, the spokesperson responded, “The message is not targeted towards Iran. How does Iran come into it? Is this your interpretation of the situation between Saudi Arabia and Iran? This is not our assessment. The situation in Yemen is complicated. There is a history.”
All Pakistanis in Yemen are safe and rumours that some Pakistanis had been killed by Houthi rebels are ‘false’, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which established contact with the remaining Pakistani community for whom efforts are being made so that they can be evacuated safely.
The situation is tense in Mokallah, said the spokesperson at the weekly media briefing, where Wednesday night saw a prison break, and around 175 people were unable to proceed to the port where a Pakistan Navy ship is anchored.
“Once they are embarked, the ship will bring them back directly to Karachi. It is only due to the clashes close to Mokallah where, reportedly, a prison break occurred last night that the operation has got delayed slightly,” she added.
In Sana’a 145 Pakistanis continue to be stranded as first they were reluctant, for reasons best known to them, to join an earlier convoy led by Pakistan’s ambassador, and now refuse to move to the closest port city, Al Hudeida where they could be airlifted or evacuated by sea.
“Flights have not operated from Sana’a airport in recent days because of the ‘no fly zone’ restriction imposed by Saudi Arabia. We are in contact with the Saudi government for an exemption of ‘no fly’ restriction. They had offered ‘no fly’ exemption for Al Hudeida, but we have reiterated our request for Sana’a. The fact that Sana’a airport had been bombed earlier and is partially damaged makes the prospect of a flight more challenging,” explained the spokesperson where small aircraft could be engaged.
The spokesperson said out of 3,000 Pakistanis initially in Yemen, just a few hundred are left, and the embassy could not force people to leave when there was an opportunity.“The mission cannot force people. Some of these people are settled there. They have their businesses and jobs and some of them are married to locals. Some people may have assessed that situation will not deteriorate further but it happened,” she said.

