Mission in Yemen alerted, not closed down: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday alerted its mission in Yemen but had not yet decided to close it down.
The Foreign Office confirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) had contacted Pakistan requesting it to fight the Houthis inside Yemen, but the Nawaz Sharif government was still examining the request.
“As regards the media reports, well, I can confirm that we have been contacted by Saudi Arabia in this regard and the matter is being examined. That’s all I have to say at the moment,” the spokesperson at the Foreign Office said while replying to a query.
India’s Ministry of External Affaris on Wednesday advised its nationals inside Yemen to “consider leaving Yemen on voluntary basis by earliest available commercial flights”.Pakistan’s decision to ponder over the kingdom’s request came soon after foreign news agencies quoted the Saudi SPA state news agency saying that five Muslim countries, including Egypt and Pakistan, wanted to participate in the Gulf-led military coalition against the Houthis who had seized large swathes of Yemen.
Together with Jordan, Morocco and Sudan, they have “expressed desire to participate in the operation” against the rebels, which the Kingdom dubbed Firmness Storm, Saudi SPA state news agency added.These reports say that KSA and four other Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, announced earlier a decision to “answer the call of President Hadi to protect Yemen and his people from the aggression of the Houthi militia.”
When the spokesperson was asked to comment on Iran’s condemnation for launching air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen which it said “was a dangerous step that violated international responsibilities and national sovereignty”, she replied, “This is your interpretation and your assumption. I have not seen anything that Iran is backing the rebels. The question, therefore, is not relevant.”
Commenting on the situation pertaining to Pakistan’s Mission and the Pakistani community, the spokesperson said that no decision had yet been taken to shut down the Embassy in Yemen.
“Well they have been alerted. No decision has yet been taken to shut down the Embassy. As per our practice, the community was already cautioned about the possibility of the situation deteriorating and advised to evacuate. The embassy has also been alerted. Since they are on the ground, they have to give their assessment of the situation. If the assessment is that situation has reached a stage where they need to be evacuated, then they will be evacuated,” the spokesperson explained.
India’s unacceptable decision not to give city specific visas to parents to visit graves of five children killed in the Samjhota Express terrorist attack was also raised with the spokesperson.“As far as I know, they have been given visas but not to the place where their children are buried, despite indicating very clearly that they wanted to visit the graves of their children. Our Mission in New Delhi is making efforts with the Indian government to facilitate the parents’ visit to their children’s graves,” responded the spokesperson.
She added that the pain of the parents was unimaginable and the insensitivity in this regard was inconceivable. “While some of the terrorists involved in the attack roam free, the parents are denied the permission to visit the graves of their children. The bereaved Pakistani families are still awaiting justice,” she said.