During the first Gulf War in 1990, the prime minister of Pakistan flew to several Arab countries to help negotiate a ceasefire. The nation was told how the brave premier dodged missiles and risked his life for peace. Two decades later, the same prime minister is faced with a similar situation. Before embarking on his peace mission, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia to assess the situation.
After the civil war in Yemen escalated and the Saudi government reached out to its allies for help, the prime minister vowed to help the holy kingdom. Before making that announcement, he did not consult the Parliament or his cabinet.
The prime minister offered every available resource to Saudi Arabia, including troops. It left people wondering if it was Yemen tht was under attack or Saudi Arabia. The Awami National Party (ANP), the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) categorically opposed the proposal of sending Pakistani troops to Yemen. The People’s Party preferred to stay near the fence.
Jamatud Dawa, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat, Wafaqul Madaris, Pakistan Ulema Council and other Deobandi religious outfits seem to support the decision to help Saudi Arabia.
Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, a conglomerate of Shia outfits, opposed what it called expansionist designs of the kingdom. Shia leaders of Pakistan rejected any decision to dispatch Pakistani troops to crush the uprising in the war-ravaged country.
The war, being fought more than 2,000km away, is not the simple Shia-Sunni conflict many think it is, but it has aggravated sectarian tensions in Pakistan. Without realising the intricacies of the conflict, the religious right in the country seems to have given an impression as if the sovereignty of Pakistan is under attack.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif owes a lot to Saudi Arabia, or to be more precise, the House of Saud. They managed to save him from Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2000. They offered him sanctuary, and helped him establish a business empire in the country.
Some say Sharif betrayed his benefactors by violating a 10-year agreement to stay away from Pakistani politics. That forced King Abdullah to send his intelligence chief Prince Muqrin to visit Pakistan, along with Saad Hariri, and show the entire Pakistani nation the agreement Sharif had signed.
Nonetheless, it was the same House of Saud who forced Gen Musharraf to allow Mr Sharif to return to Pakistan after the general reached a similar understanding with Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
Soon after the Nawaz Sharif government took over in 2013, Saudi Arabia injected $1.5 billion into the Pakistani economy. They had refused to give a billion dollar worth of oil to Pakistan on deferred payment after the People’s Party came to power in 2008. The Sauds value personal relations very highly.
“We will not jump into the civil war in Yemen. It’s their internal matter,” says Tariq Fatemi, the prime minister’s special assistant on foreign affairs. He was quick to add that Pakistan would not hesitate to protect Saudi Arabia against any threats.
The foreign office, the defence minister and other officials made similar comments. If they are to be believed, Pakistani boots will not touch Yemeni soil any time soon. The PML-N government might deploy troops in the kingdom though, the way it did during the first Gulf War.
It is said the Saudi government has always helped Pakistan, economically and otherwise. Independent analysts question the notion.
Dr Pervez Hoodhboy says the Saudi government has caused more harm to Pakistan than good. The influx of Mujahideen from Afghanistan, the spawning of Taliban, and emergence of Al Qaeda are the gifts of Saudi Arabia’s proxy wars, he says, and hundreds of seminaries in Pakistan receive massive funding from Saudi Arabia to further the kingdom’s orthodox, Wahhabist ideology. And that is why he strongly opposes military aid to Saudi Arabia to re-establish its dominance over Yemen “for economic and strategic gains.”
Since the 1960s, Pakistan has helped train Saudi armed forces. In 2008, Brookings Institute released a report on close ties between Saudis and Pakistanis over Yemen. “Pakistan has provided military aid and expertise to the kingdom for decades,” it said. “It began with help to the Royal Saudi Air Force to build and pilot its first jet fighters in the 1960s. Pakistani Air Force pilots flew RSAF Lightnings that repulsed a South Yemeni incursion into the kingdom’s southern border in 1969.”
According to a recent study by IHS Jane’s, the Saudi kingdom became the world’s biggest importer of weapons and defensive systems in 2014, beating India. It spent over $6.4 billion on defence purchases last year. The Pakistani government seems to have given an impression that their armed forces were at the disposal of Saudi Arabia whenever it needed them.
“We must stay away from the Yemen conflict for our own good,” says defence analyst Lt Gen (r) Talat Masood. “First, it is not our war. Second, it would create a serious sectarian crisis in the country. Third, our presence in Yemen would not make any difference.”
The rise of religious extremism has taught Pakistanis a lesson – we must not set our own house on fire over a war taking place thousands of miles away.
Shahzad Raza is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @shahzadrez
After the civil war in Yemen escalated and the Saudi government reached out to its allies for help, the prime minister vowed to help the holy kingdom. Before making that announcement, he did not consult the Parliament or his cabinet.
The prime minister offered every available resource to Saudi Arabia, including troops. It left people wondering if it was Yemen tht was under attack or Saudi Arabia. The Awami National Party (ANP), the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) categorically opposed the proposal of sending Pakistani troops to Yemen. The People’s Party preferred to stay near the fence.
Jamatud Dawa, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat, Wafaqul Madaris, Pakistan Ulema Council and other Deobandi religious outfits seem to support the decision to help Saudi Arabia.
Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, a conglomerate of Shia outfits, opposed what it called expansionist designs of the kingdom. Shia leaders of Pakistan rejected any decision to dispatch Pakistani troops to crush the uprising in the war-ravaged country.
The war, being fought more than 2,000km away, is not the simple Shia-Sunni conflict many think it is, but it has aggravated sectarian tensions in Pakistan. Without realising the intricacies of the conflict, the religious right in the country seems to have given an impression as if the sovereignty of Pakistan is under attack.
"Our presence in Yemen will not make a difference"
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif owes a lot to Saudi Arabia, or to be more precise, the House of Saud. They managed to save him from Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2000. They offered him sanctuary, and helped him establish a business empire in the country.
Some say Sharif betrayed his benefactors by violating a 10-year agreement to stay away from Pakistani politics. That forced King Abdullah to send his intelligence chief Prince Muqrin to visit Pakistan, along with Saad Hariri, and show the entire Pakistani nation the agreement Sharif had signed.
Nonetheless, it was the same House of Saud who forced Gen Musharraf to allow Mr Sharif to return to Pakistan after the general reached a similar understanding with Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
Soon after the Nawaz Sharif government took over in 2013, Saudi Arabia injected $1.5 billion into the Pakistani economy. They had refused to give a billion dollar worth of oil to Pakistan on deferred payment after the People’s Party came to power in 2008. The Sauds value personal relations very highly.
“We will not jump into the civil war in Yemen. It’s their internal matter,” says Tariq Fatemi, the prime minister’s special assistant on foreign affairs. He was quick to add that Pakistan would not hesitate to protect Saudi Arabia against any threats.
The foreign office, the defence minister and other officials made similar comments. If they are to be believed, Pakistani boots will not touch Yemeni soil any time soon. The PML-N government might deploy troops in the kingdom though, the way it did during the first Gulf War.
It is said the Saudi government has always helped Pakistan, economically and otherwise. Independent analysts question the notion.
Dr Pervez Hoodhboy says the Saudi government has caused more harm to Pakistan than good. The influx of Mujahideen from Afghanistan, the spawning of Taliban, and emergence of Al Qaeda are the gifts of Saudi Arabia’s proxy wars, he says, and hundreds of seminaries in Pakistan receive massive funding from Saudi Arabia to further the kingdom’s orthodox, Wahhabist ideology. And that is why he strongly opposes military aid to Saudi Arabia to re-establish its dominance over Yemen “for economic and strategic gains.”
Since the 1960s, Pakistan has helped train Saudi armed forces. In 2008, Brookings Institute released a report on close ties between Saudis and Pakistanis over Yemen. “Pakistan has provided military aid and expertise to the kingdom for decades,” it said. “It began with help to the Royal Saudi Air Force to build and pilot its first jet fighters in the 1960s. Pakistani Air Force pilots flew RSAF Lightnings that repulsed a South Yemeni incursion into the kingdom’s southern border in 1969.”
According to a recent study by IHS Jane’s, the Saudi kingdom became the world’s biggest importer of weapons and defensive systems in 2014, beating India. It spent over $6.4 billion on defence purchases last year. The Pakistani government seems to have given an impression that their armed forces were at the disposal of Saudi Arabia whenever it needed them.
“We must stay away from the Yemen conflict for our own good,” says defence analyst Lt Gen (r) Talat Masood. “First, it is not our war. Second, it would create a serious sectarian crisis in the country. Third, our presence in Yemen would not make any difference.”
The rise of religious extremism has taught Pakistanis a lesson – we must not set our own house on fire over a war taking place thousands of miles away.
Shahzad Raza is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @shahzadrez