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All opposition parties and the JUI-F, a government ally, urged the PML-N government on Monday to clarify its position on the Yemen crisis, as to what it has committed with Saudi authorities and what are the government's policies and priorities regarding the Yemeni crisis.
The parties also said the parliament is the supreme institution and all decisions should be taken with the consent of its members. They also emphasised that the government should not conceal any policy from the parliament.
The opposition raised numerous questions on the subject of Pakistan's role in the escalating discord in the Middle East. PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan took the lead in asking the government to clarify what it means by its assertion that Pakistan will support the kingdom if there is "a threat to Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity".
"We are here to give you the mandate," Ahsan said as the session resumed after adjournment. "But for that we need to be informed clearly what exactly your stance is, only then we will be in a position to lend you the mandate you are seeking."
Aitzaz asserted that Riyadh, with its supreme air power, is capable of defending Saudi Arabian cities that are 2,000 kilometres from the war zone in Yemen.
"The House needs to be taken into confidence," he demanded. "All diplomatic correspondence should be shared with us."
If the government is planning to send troops to Saudi Arabia; then it should take the parliament into confidence, he said, adding that around two million Pakistanis have been working in Saudi Arabia; therefore "we can't keep over self aloof from the situation."
Ahsan dispelled the impression that Saudi Arabia's conflict with Yemen is a sectarian one. "This is not a sectarian conflict rather a political power wrangling," he said.
Saudi Arabia has got one of the sophisticated air forces in the region as it spent over $62 billion in 2013 and it is going to spend around $80 billion on its defence this year, he said.
"Saudi Arabia is a strong country and can defend its territorial integrity," he said, urging the government to play a diplomatic role to calm down the situation in the Middle East.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that a war has been imposed on the Islamic countries to plunder the resources and obstruct the economic progress.
He also seconded Aitzaz Ahsan's viewpoint that Saudi intervention in Yemen is not a sectarian conflict, but the West is trying its level best to give it a colour of sectarian strife for its own vested interests.
"Iran has never declared its support for the Houthis; therefore it is not wise to drag Iran into the conflict," he said, urging the government not to discuss the Pak-Iran relations at the moment.
Fazl also said that if all the details regarding Pakistan's co-operation with Saudi Arabia are not divulged in the open session; then an alternate can be looked for.
Speaking on the issue, PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi also raised numerous questions on the statement of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, saying the defence minister should elaborate the strategy that Pakistan is adopting in connection with Saudi Arabia-Yemen conflict.
"Why is the OIC not being used as a platform to settle the situation," he said, adding that the government should find out whether the air strikes on Yemen are sanctioned by the United Nations.
Qureshi said that Pakistan should tread carefully as the crisis in Yemen is an internal political power struggle rather than a sectarian issue.
MQM MNA Farooq Sattar said, "Do we want to put Balochistan's future at risk by joining a controversial war. We should be evaluating the long-term implications of our involvement in the war."
He asked whether pre-emptive strikes are justified. "We have not been told the details of any talks held by the prime minister with Saudi and Turkish leadership," said Sattar adding, "Is this assembly being used as a rubber stamp?"
He said that Saudi Arabia has helped Pakistan on numerous occasions, especially in dealing with natural disasters, but that does not warrant our involvement in the conflict without due deliberations.
Earlier, Khursheed Shah of PPP said the prime minister should have attended the joint session. "I want to ask PM Nawaz to come and sit in the parliament and commence the debate on the Yemen issue."Responding to it, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the prime minister is busy with the Sri Lankan President. "The prime minister will definitely come to the house," he assured the Leader of the Opposition.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2015

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