Riyadh, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif made a policy statement in the National Assembly.
Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to Riyadh was directly related to the Yemen crisis although at that time Saudi offensive had not been launched. But the Yemen situation was aggravating due to collapse of the state machinery because of rebels’ activities. After that, the prime minister spoke to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Maqrin and assured Pakistan’s full support.
While the government has repeatedly stated that it would come to the Parliament in case of sending troops to holy land Arabia only to protect Saudi Arabia and would not take any hasty decision, some political parties are unnecessarily stressing that the prime minister should consult the legislature and call an all-parties’ conference. The government may not be averse to this idea if it planned deploying troops in Saudi Arabia.
Apart from what the prime minister has clearly told the top Saudi leaders during telephonic contacts, the visit of an elaborate Pakistan delegation, led by the defence minister, which also includes senior military officials, to Saudi Arabia, will be decisive as it will discuss the situation in the backdrop of the Yemen crisis.
The Arab League has fully supported military strikes against Yemen rebels and ten Gulf countries are part of the Saudi-led coalition, which is hitting the Yemen insurgents. The heads of its member countries met in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 29 and agreed to create a joint Arab military force. The grouping wants to tackle the Yemen crisis with its own resources and force.
The previous Gulf war, codenamed Operation Desert Shield, for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defence of Saudi Arabia was a battle waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Baghdad’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait.
The Iraqi Army’s occupation of Kuwait that began on August 2, 1990 was met with international condemnation and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. The then US president George Bush deployed American forces into Saudi Arabia and urged other countries to send their own troops to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the coalition’s military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, Britain and Egypt as leading contributors in that order. Saudi Arabia had paid around $36 billion of the $60 billion cost.
The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait had begun with an aerial and naval bombardment on January 17, 1991 continuing for five weeks. It was followed by a ground assault on February 24. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which drove the Iraqi military from Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased its advance and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait and areas on Saudi Arabia’s border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel.