Pakistan cannot afford getting embroiled in Yemen sectarian conflict: Shireen Mazari

Islamabad, March 26: (PR) Central Spokesperson of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Dr Shireen Mazari today expressed concern over the impending sectarian conflict that is looming in our neighbourhood with the US-Saudi decision for military action in Yemen. She said a proxy war in Yemen is being waged and has all the hallmarks of spilling over not only into other parts of the Gulf region especially Bahrain but beyond into Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan already has a serious sectarian terrorism issue. Reports coming in that the Pakistan government may provide/ is providing assistance to Saudi Arabia in the latter’s partnership with the US over Yemen is a cause for serious concern, Mazari said.

“Given our close ties to both Saudi Arabia and Iran and our own internal sectarian terrorism, Pakistan simply cannot afford to get embroiled in any Shia-Sunni conflict in the Gulf and Middle East regions. Pakistan must stay strictly neutral,” Mazari advised.

She also pointed out that just when the new Afghan government is seeking a dialogue with all Afghan stakeholders for bringing peace into Afghanistan, the flaring up of a sectarian conflict in the Gulf region will have severe and negative repercussions for this peace process especially with President Ghani already warning of an advance IS surveillance mission already present along the Afghan-Pakistan international border. Mazari demanded the government give a clear-cut statement on its policy on Yemen and the US-Saudi military action there.