Pakistan Parliament Backs Neutrality in Yemen Conflict

A joint session of parliament has been debating the issue in the capital Islamabad all week, and unanimously passed the resolution, presented by Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, on Friday afternoon.

The resolution expresses the "desire that Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict", while reaffirming Pakistan’s "unequivocal support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".

Members of parliament agreed that Pakistan would "stand shoulder to shoulder" with Saudi Arabia in case of a violation of that country’s territorial integrity, or a threat to Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina.

The vote on Friday comes on the heels of frenetic diplomatic activity, with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister, in Islamabad for a two-day visit that concluded on Thursday, following Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif’s meetings in Turkey with that country’s leadership on the issue.

Pakistani leaders have also met senior Saudi officials in Riyadh in the last two weeks, while the country’s military leadership has been in talks with Iran and Egypt.

Pakistan, alongside regional ally Turkey, has placed itself as a peace broker in the conflict, calling on the UN and Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to take a pro-active role in fostering dialogue to end the conflict, Al Jazeera reported.

The parliamentary resolution is not binding on the executive, but the fact that text was proposed by senior cabinet member Dar, who is a member of the ruling PML-N party, and that it was passed unanimously indicate that it is highly unlikely the government would defy it.

The resolution passed on Friday "calls upon the warring factions in Yemen to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue".