Local Editor
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says Islamabad will quit the Saudi-led coalition if it becomes "sectarian," as the military bloc continues its bloody campaign in Yemen.
“Pakistan does not wish to be a part of any sectarian alliance,” the minister told lawmakers in the senate, the upper house of the parliament.
“Our efforts have been and will be geared towards eradicating militancy.”
The Pakistani minister added that Islamabad had not issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for its former army chief, General Raheel Sharif, to assume command of the coalition.
The remarks follow speculation that the Pakistani government had cleared the former army chief to take up the job as the head of the coalition following a formal request from Saudi Arabia.
The news of the controversial appointment sparked controversy in the country and was strongly denounced by some politicians, retired army officers and intellectuals, as well as Shia and moderate Sunni Muslim leaders.
Opposition lawmakers consider the decision a violation of a parliamentary resolution passed in April 2015 that called for Pakistan to maintain a policy of neutrality, particularly with respect to the Saudi aggression against Yemen. The Saudi campaign, which allegedly seeks to restore Yemen's ex-government to power, has killed over 12,000 Yemenis.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
