President calls joint Parliamentary session on April 6

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain has called a joint session of Parliament on Monday (April 6) to discuss the crisis in Yemen and Riyadh’s request for Pakistani troops in the ongoing Saudi-led operation against Houthi rebels.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had advised the President to call a joint session after he held a high-level consultative meeting on Thursday with top political and military leaders and a delegation of Pakistani officials which had returned from Riyadh after meeting the Saudi leadership.

A statement released after the meeting reiterated the government´s stance that any breach of Saudi "territorial integrity" would bring a "strong response" from Pakistan.

It also condemned "actions by non-state actors in Yemen to overthrow a legitimate government," but stopped short of committing to join the kingdom´s coalition at this stage.

"The prime minister... emphasised that all decisions in the matter will be taken in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan," the statement said.

"To this end, the prime minister is advising the president to convene a joint session of parliament on Monday April 6 to discuss this matter of national importance."

The prime minister was in Turkey on Friday to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "exchange views on the situation relating to Yemen".

"They will also discuss how the two countries can be helpful in addressing the issue," the foreign office had said in a statement.

Yemen plunged into chaos by a Houthi rebellion that triggered air strikes backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia on the capital Sanaa, as Arab leaders vowed to pummel the rebels until they surrender.

Pakistan is a longstanding ally of Saudi Arabia with close military ties and agreements, but Islamabad has not yet committed to the Saudi-led operation, which has drawn strong criticism from its neighbour Iran.