Headlines
Sharif assures support to Saudi king over strikes in Yemen
Islamabad, March 29
Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif has told Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz that he will soon
send a high-level delegation to Riyadh to discuss cooperation for the
Saudi-led strikes on Yemen, a top diplomat said.
Foreign
Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told a press conference late on Saturday that
the delegation could depart within 24 to 48 hours, Xinhua reported.
"The
prime minister told the Saudi king that the security of Saudi Arabia is
very important for Pakistan and any threat to Saudi Arabia will be a
matter of serious concern for us," he said.
"Our leadership is in
contact with the Saudi leaders and has told them Pakistan will send a
delegation to assess the situation and will later make decisions,"
Chaudhry said.
The delegation was scheduled to leave on Friday.
Chaudhry denied reports that Pakistan has joined the Saudi-led coalition
in strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
"All these
reports are false and based on assumptions," the foreign secretary said
when commenting on Saudi state news agency's report that Islamabad has
agreed to join the Saudi-led coalition.
Defence Minister Khawaja
Asif will lead the Pakistani delegation that will also comprise the
country's security advisor and military officials.
"Pakistan has
assured the Saudi leaders it will defend the kingdom if its sovereignty
and territorial integrity is threatened," the top diplomat said.
He
said there are some 3,000 Pakistanis in Yemen and around 1,000 of them
want to leave the conflict-stricken country. He said Pakistan has
contacted Saudi authorities for the landing of Pakistani planes as Saudi
Arabia has imposed a no-fly zone in Yemen.
Pakistan will also send two ships to bring the stranded Pakistanis.
Khawaja held talks with his Saudi counterpart via phone over the evacuation of Pakistani nationals from Yemen, officials said.
The
Saudi minister assured that stranded Pakistanis would be taken care of
as Saudi citizens and all routes via land, sea and air would be used, an
official statement said.