Mazari concerned over Saudi action in Yemen

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari Thursday expressed concern over the impending sectarian conflict that was looming in Pakistan’s neighbourhood with the US-Saudi decision for military action in Yemen, urging Pakistan to remain neutral.
She said, “A proxy war in Yemen is being waged and has all the hallmarks of spilling over not only into other parts of the Gulf region especially Bahrain but beyond into Pakistan and Afghanistan”.
Mazari pointed out Pakistan already had a serious sectarian terrorism issue. “Reports coming in that the Pakistan government may provide/is providing assistance to Saudi Arabia in the latter’s partnership with the US over Yemen is a cause for serious concern,” she said.“Given our close ties to both Saudi Arabia and Iran and our own internal sectarian terrorism, Pakistan simply cannot afford to get embroiled in any Shia-Sunni conflict in the Gulf and Middle East regions. Pakistan must stay strictly neutral”, Mazari contended.
She also pointed out that just when the new Afghan government was seeking a dialogue with all Afghan stakeholders for bringing peace into Afghanistan, the flaring up of a sectarian conflict in the Gulf region would have severe and negative repercussions for this peace process especially with President Ghani has already gave warning about an advance IS surveillance mission’s presence along the Afghan-Pakistan international border.Mazari demanded of the government to give a clear-cut statement on its policy on Yemen and the US-Saudi military action there.