Parliament to be taken into confidence: Asif

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Friday told the National Assembly that parliament will be taken into confidence if a decision was taken to send the army to the Middle East.
The minister said no decision had been taken to participate in the war in the Middle East; rather Pakistan had pledged to defend the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia.“Pakistan has pledged to defend Saudi Arabia in case of any danger to its territorial integrity and security of the friendly country,” the minister said while giving a policy statement in response to concerns shown by the Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah about the issue.
The minister said Pakistan had offered to Saudi Arabia that a delegation comprising defence minister, adviser on finance and senior military officials would visit the country to assess their defence requirements.
“We are also keeping a close eye on Pakistan’s own security situation and will not take any action which may leave any negative impact,” Asif said.However, he said a meeting of the Arab League was going to be held within a day or two and Pakistan was hoping that the issue would be resolved on a common platform. He said countries, particularly when the Muslim Ummah was faced with differences.
Asif said the fears of the leader of the opposition about Pakistan taking side in the war in Middle East are baseless.He said if any decision required to be made in this regard the Parliament will be taken into confidence.
Earlier, Khursheed Shah said Pakistan should play its role for peace, particularly in the Islamic world and should not take any side in the war in Middle East.He suggested that a joint session of the Parliament or All Parties Conference should be convened to take any decision on the issue.He said foreign policy should also be reviewed to meet the present day challenges.