A different take

The Saudi request for assistance boils down to a simple truism, ie, it is payback time. Having enjoyed Saudi largesse for years on end and expecting it in the future, too, we could have been a little careful with our response. It would not do to talk about sovereignty, neutrality, self-interests and all that with the begging bowl clanging away.
The high sounding parliamentary resolution on the subject, passed with much bravado and desk thumping would have raised eyebrows in the kingdom as it has elsewhere in the Arab world. When a friend asks for help you do not start philosophising. You give a little help, just a little, qualified if necessary, as a token, to tide over the immediacy of the request and for the sake of friendship. You then have time to confect a strategy that could best serve your purpose. The Saudis, hopefully, would understand. But the way we have gone about it we have ruffled enough feathers to keep us occupied for a while. In a sense, we have sown the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind as is apparent from the clarifications and damage control exercise that is underway.
Farid Nawaz
Islamabad