Joint PM, COAS visit to Riyadh shows teamwork on key issues

ISLAMABAD: Thursday’s joint visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to Saudi Arabia shows the exceptional collaboration and teamwork between the civilian and military leaderships on key issues and the utmost importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with Riyadh.
This will send an unambiguous message to Saudi Arabia that the Islamabad’s policy on the Yemen crisis has the backing and support of all the key stakeholders of Pakistan.There are indications that the two Sharifs will discuss with the Saudi leadership what Pakistan can do in ensuring that no arms supplies land in the hands of the Yemeni rebels through sea, and any other assistance that Riyadh will seek. In addition, the visit will help remove any skepticism and distrust that still prevails in Saudi Arabia about Pakistan vis-à-vis the Yemen conflict. Over the past four weeks, Islamabad has been working hard to take care of any misunderstanding that Riyadh might have developed.
The kind of excellent ties Pakistan has with Saudi Arabia direly required the top civilian and military leaders to go to Riyadh together in order to speak with one voice.The visit will provide the army chief to have the firsthand knowledge of the Saudi point of view on Islamabad’s stand. But this is not the first time that the top army leaders have been included in the high-powered delegations that went to Saudi Arabia after the eruption of the Yemen crisis.
This is the well-considered policy devised by the prime minister so that there is no mistrust or misgivings at any stage or level that may lead to confrontation, which is a clear departure from the history.
Two high-level teams, one led by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the other headed by Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif, had also included senior military officials. The army thus remained in full picture all the time. Thus, Islamabad’s stand has the total backing of the top most civilian and military leaderships.
Since the beginning of the clash over Yemen, several meetings have been presided over by the prime minister on the conflict. All of them were attended by the top brass of the armed forces. Before the defence minister had made his first policy statement in the National Assembly, a similar session was held in which the strategy, which has been adhered all along, was firmed up. There has been no deviation from it. When the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Yemen, Pakistan announced to follow it.
Instead of taking a knee-jerk decision on the Saudi demand for allocation of troops, naval ships and jet fighters, Pakistan mulled over it cool-mindedly involving all the key stakeholders. It then came out with a well-thought out strategy keeping in view Pakistan’s supreme national interests and did not jump in the war zone. It was of course a difficult phase in Pak-Saudi ties, but Islamabad made every effort to tide over it and successfully checked any possible downslide.
In dictatorial rules, national policies on matters of such paramount importance were quickly decided by a coterie without any consultations, even on a single telephone call. This plunged Pakistan into an abyss, entailing colossal loss in men and material.
It is certainly satisfying and reassuring for Pakistan that it stands vindicated as Saudi Arabia has also declared a policy that Islamabad had devised. Riyadh has announced an end to four weeks of air strikes in Yemen saying that the threat of Iran-backed rebels there had been removed and that operations were entering a political phase. The next step would aim to resume the political process in Yemen, delivering aid and fighting terrorism there.
Initially, Pakistan’s policy caused much angst and frustration in Arab circles. Particularly, the April 10 resolution of the Parliament hugely irked the Gulf countries, which are part of the Saudi-led coalition. However, some of its provisions, emphasising peaceful resolution of the conflict, have been proven correct with the Saudi announcement.
The resolution had called upon the warring factions in Yemen to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue; supported regional and international efforts for restoration of peace and stability in Yemen; underscored the need for continued efforts by the government of Pakistan to find a peaceful resolution while promoting the unity of Muslim Ummah in cooperation with the leaders of other Muslim countries; and urged the Muslim Ummah and the international community to intensify their efforts to promote peace in Yemen.
Several Arab quarters had also deeply resented the combined efforts of Pakistan and Turkey for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Islamabad and Ankara wanted that the Muslim world did not plunge in another serious crisis that damages its unity.
Pakistan promptly welcomed Saudi declaration of ending air strikes and said this will pave the way for a political solution to the crisis. “Pakistan shares the desire of Saudi Arabia for a peaceful settlement of the Yemeni crisis.”