Last April, a joint session of parliament turned down a Saudi request for troops to fight on its side in Yemen. It was certainly a difficult decision, but neutrality in the conflict, which pits Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other, counterbalanced all other considerations. That Pakistan's refusal didn't sit well with the Saudi coalition was a fact that found its best expression from a threat hurled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pakistan will have to pay a "heavy price" for its "ambiguous stand" on the request for troops, said one its ministers. Since the Yemen conflict has a clear sectarian dimension, Pakistan does not want to become a party to the ongoing war. One other regional country that refused to take sides in the Yemen conflict was Oman. But no more now; it too has become part of the military alliance. Both Pakistan and Oman have agreed to be its part, as have 39 other Muslim countries, convinced as they are that proposed alliance is set to fight the Muslim world's common enemy: international terrorism. Terrorism is neither Sunni nor Shia; driven as it is by weird ideology that all that today's Muslim civilization stands for must be destroyed. This breed of fanatics is active all over the Muslim world and beyond. To see it through the Yemen lens would be disingenuous. In fact, even in there this breed of fanatics is fighting both the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces and pro-Iran Houthi rebels. That being the backdrop the government's decision to allow retired Army Chief General Raheel Sharif is entirely on merit; giving it a sectarian context would be unfair. Even if the present government would have wanted him to lead the Saudi-led military alliance given his stature in the eyes of the world and his place in the history the general would not have taken its command unless it was purely on merit.
Therefore, it is beyond the realm of common sense to think that by taking the command of the Saudi-led military alliance Pakistan runs the risk of running afoul of Iran's sensitivities. Pakistan had briefed Tehran of the Saudi offer and its decision to allow General Raheel Sharif to take coalition's command. That Tehran has its own worldview of politics in the Middle East is a fact. But the challenge the proposed military alliance force is expected to take up is beyond the Saudi Arabia-Iran rift; it is worldwide and tends to see Iran and Saudi Arabia as its common target. Since the framework in which the alliance would operate is yet to be discussed and finalised General Raheel Sharif's presence would certainly help the force to retain neutrality in situations of conflicting interests of regional powers. "The fact that the alliance is not structured gives flexibility to the members with regard to their contributions," argues Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua. In her briefing to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Ms Janjua was spot on by pointing out that while with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan has close relationship but Iran is a neighbour. The government of Pakistan is therefore unequivocally committed to maintaining a balance in that equation of important relationship and neighbourhood. The assurance to keep the balance between Saudi Arabia and Iran has also been given by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. "Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia are not at the cost of Iran; in fact relations with Iran are improving," he reportedly told a gathering at the Pakistan High Commission in London. Joining an international coalition that is committed to fighting terrorism is in Pakistan's own interest. No country has suffered more from terrorism than Pakistan. Now that a chance has come its way to join a military alliance exclusively committed to fighting and defeating international terrorism it should be welcomed with open arms instead of giving it a sectarian tinge - a mindset that has already exacted a huge price from the people of Pakistan.
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