Pakistani jets, ships not fighting against Houthis: FO

ISLAMABAD: As a high-level Pakistan delegation left for Saudi Arabia, the rumour mills appeared to be working overtime, leading the government to rule out reports that Pakistani fighter jets and naval ships were in battle against the Houthi rebels in Yemen as they allegedly posed a threat to Saudi Arabia.
Specifically mentioning the reports by Reuters and other sources, the spokesperson at the Foreign Office (FO) said, “Reports about Pakistan Air Force jets and naval ships (being) part of the military action in Yemen, are speculative, misleading and incorrect.”
Reuters and some other western news agencies have been quoting Pakistani officials as saying that the Pakistan Army would be going to Saudi Arabia while other reports spoke of a decision to send the PAF fighter aircraft and naval ships to Saudi Arabia.
The ISPR also tried to dispel these reports saying that joint military exercises with 292 Pakistani troops between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were being held since March 19 in Taif and that these were routine.
Had the ISPR posted this routine exercise on its webpage, there would have been no need for speculations. But of late, it has resorted to using the social media for important news, including the first hanging of condemned terrorists.
However, Pakistan has maintained all along that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Saudi Arabia are important for Pakistan and in the face of a serious threat, Pakistan would not hesitate to help.
Starting Monday, the government went into a damage control mode with senior officials from the Foreign Office and the minister of defence visible on television prime time current affairs programmes.
A strong argument was made by a former senior air force officer, Air Vice Marshal Shehzad Chowdhury on Geo TV, in which he reasoned that if the Pakistan Army was perturbed about India keeping the LoC and Working Boundary hot, how could it afford to send its army away from the operations against terrorism to help the Saudis.
For now at least, the government says that only when the delegation comprising Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, PM’s Adviser Sartaj Aziz and military personnel returns to Pakistan would a decision be made as to how assistance could be provided to Saudi Arabia in time of need.
In the meantime, Islamabad is also working in reaching out to important players in the region seeking a peaceful resolution of the chaos in Yemen while also engaging with Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The priority for now is to ensure that all Pakistanis still stranded in Yemen, who wish to return home, can do so mostly by sea route as with each passing day, departure by air is becoming riskier. Pakistani naval ships have reached Aden to bring back more citizens.
Parliament, meanwhile, is being ignored and voices are being raised that this is certainly a matter for consideration of parliamentarians and a special session should be summoned in this regard.