Pakistan part of Saudi-led military alliance: FO

 Says Pakistan’s role in 34-nation coalition yet to be decided

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan made it official and clarified its earlier ambiguous position on whether it was part of the recently announced 34-nation anti-terrorism coalition cobbled together by Saudi Arabia.

“Yes, we are part of it (the coalition). We have decided, and we welcome it. Further details are awaited to decide the extent of Pakistan’s participation in various activities of the alliance against terrorism,” the Foreign Office spokesman said on Thursday in response to a question whether Pakistan was part of the alliance announced by Saudi Arabia against terrorism. He was speaking at the weekly media briefing.

Justifying Pakistan’s decision to join the Saudi-led coalition, the spokesman said Pakistan maintains close contact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bilaterally and within the framework of the OIC and had been exchanging ideas on how to deal with the increasing threats posed by terrorists and extremist mindset to the region.

The spokesman refused to be dragged into Saudi Arabia’s decision not to include Iran in the coalition against terrorism.

“It is for each country to respond to various developments that are taking place at the regional and international levels. I will not comment on why some countries are not included in the 34-Nation alliance against terrorism,” he said.

Pakistan’s confirmation was a change from the undecided position it had maintained for two days when the best it came up with was, that though it welcomed this Saudi-led alliance it has yet not decided how it will participate in the different activities of this newly-formed military alliance.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was quoted by Reuters as saying that the alliance will share intelligence, train, equip and provide forces if necessary for the fight against Daesh militants.

Earlier, when Saudi Arabia had requested help from the Pakistan Army to fight inside Yemen it was assured that Pakistan could help in training, something that it has done in the past as well. But the spokesman did not specify whether Pakistan would be putting boots on ground or simply help in “intelligence sharing, training and providing equipment”.

“The coalition will have a joint operations centre in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations,” the Saudi Press Agency noted.

Of importance also is the fact as to how Pakistan will handle the fact that one of its immediate neighbours, Iran will not be part of the coalition and whether this will have an impact on Pak-Iran relations at a time when relations are on a firmer ground than they were in the past.

When asked specifically about this exclusion which also includes Iraq and Syria, the spokesman stayed away from the controversy but commented, “I can only comment on Pakistan’s position. Our statement makes it clear in the very beginning that Pakistan supports all efforts made at regional and international levels because terrorism is a global issue. The 34-nation alliance has been formed to combat terrorism. That is why we welcomed it. I do not want to comment on why some countries are not part of the alliance.”

So far there has been no response from the PML-N government apart from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and none of the ministers have commented either.

The spokesman once again reiterated that Pakistan has consistently supported all regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and extremism. “It is in this context that we have welcomed this alliance against terrorism. We are seeking additional information to decide the extent of our participation in various activities of this alliance. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy close brotherly relations and have been cooperating with each other in various fields, including in fight against terrorism,” he added.