Title Text
WHERE should pakistan STAND?
CONFLICT
SAUDI - YEMEN
PRIME MINISTER
nAWAZ SHARIF
"Any threat to Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity will evoke a strong response from Pakistan."
ZAHID HUSSAIN
Text
AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST
"It is surely no coincidence that the Saudi show of military muscle in Yemen has happened so close to an Iranian nuclear deal.
KHAWAJA ASIF
"We will not take part in any conflict that could result in differences in the Muslim world, causing fault-lines present in Pakistan to be disturbed."
DEFENCE MINISTER
abbas nasir
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former editor at dawn
"Iran may have overstretched itself by openly backing the Houthis in Yemen... Pakistan should not wait for the largely impotent Arab League... but use its good offices to mediate between the two."
PAKISTAN TEHREEK-I-INSAF CHAIRMAN
IMRAN KHAN
"Pakistan should be playing a lead role in negotiating/helping in peace talks rather than becoming a participant in the war."
"Do these [political] parties realise that even countries such as Germany and France often find it hard to escape the compulsions of geopolitics?
Can any government afford a flat refusal in such circumstances? This is easier said than done."
Executive Director Centre for research and security studies
IMTIAZ GUL
sherry rehman
VICE PRESIDENT PPP
"There's an emerging consensus in Pakistan on staying out of proxy wars in Yemen or elsewhere. Hope the government is listening."
RETIRED LT GEN TALAT MASOOD
FORMER FEDERAL SECRETARY
"As it is, the Saudi and Iranian governments are fighting their shadow wars in various Muslim countries.
Any leaning towards one side will sharpen the sectarian conflict within Pakistan. The proxies of these countries will ignite the flames of hatred."
OPPOSITION Leader
KHURSHID SHAH
"Pakistan should play its role for peace in the Islamic world, and should not take any sides in the Middle East war."
PAKISTAN PEOPLES PARTY CO-CHAIRMAN
ASIF ALI ZARDARI
"PPP fully supports all actions to protect Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries, and the restoration of democracy in Yemen."
"Will Pakistan’s participation in Yemen hurt Pakistan’s own war? No. Our military and air force deployment inside Saudi Arabia will be limited and the decision regarding this should be left to the military command.
We regularly send troops on UN missions. Does our participation in these missions affect us? No."
ALI CHISHTI
CORRESPONDENT FRIDAY TIMES
CHIEF MINISTER KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
"Yemen is the only country where Muslims of all sects pray together in one mosque. This isn't a sectarian conflict... this war is for oil and power."
PERVEZ KHATTAK
"The presence of Pakistani forces in KSA will have manifold benefits.
First, it will help stabilize the regional and domestic situation in KSA. Second, their presence will also halt further schisms within Islam. Third, they will forestall attempts to force democracy on to the people of the region."
IMRAN MALIK
SECRETARY GENERAL Pakistan forum for security and development
DR ARIF ALVI
"Friends give good advice to friends. Saudi Arabia needs cooling down, so does Iran. History is full of emotional arguments and phobias used for war."
PTI PARLIAMENTARIAN
The situation in Yemen cannot be seen in isolation to the growing fear in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain about Iran’s increasing influence. The threat of an Iran allied force in Yemen after the phenomenal rise of Iran’s role in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza renders Riyadh’s position precarious.
M SAEED KHALID
FORMER AMBASSADOR EU
MUTTAHIDA QAUMI MOVEMENT CHIEF
ALTAF HUSSAIN
"Do not push Pakistan into the conflict between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The conflict should be resolved through diplomatic discussions."
umair javed
Text
teacher of political science at lums
"The reasons for why the Pakistani state needs to avoid getting involved are patently clear.The armed forces are already engaged on several fronts in the fight against an insurgency in the northwest, intelligence gathering and security duties in Punjab, and with an ancillary ‘operation against criminality and terror’ in Karachi."
awAMI NATIONAL PARTY PRESIDENT
ASFANDYAR WALI KHAN
"It’s not our war, the government should not indulge in someone else’s war."
