In a recent article, Pakistan's widely circulated Urdu-language daily Roznama Islam, known for its support to militant organizations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, discussed Pakistan's likely difficulties if it refused to send troops to Saudi Arabia to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The article, titled "The Houthi Advance and Pakistan's Difficulty" and written by columnist Khawar Chaudhry, lamented that Pakistan's dependence on others has forced it to compromise on many occasions in the past. In the article, the Islamist daily went on to float a conspiracy theory that America may have a hand in terror attacks in Saudi mosques.
The following are excerpts:
"All The Countries Which Were Part Of [The Afghan] War Are Gradually Coming Into Its [War's] Grip; Pakistan And Saudi Arabia Are The Best Examples"
"At last, Yemen's war activities have spread to Saudi Arabia. Blasts in mosques should be treated as the first acts of the series. It appears now that the 'Bigs' [influential countries] have entered this war. The Arab world was busy amassing wealth for an era. The foreign powers, which under a special strategy were taking them towards luxuries of life, are now preparing battlegrounds for them.
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"It is naive to assume that Houthis jumped into the arena after being provoked, nor can it be accepted that the Islamic State [ISIS] came into being as a result of accidents. These things will come to light gradually in the future, but by then it may be too late.
"An American student's views regarding the [creation of] ISIS are still being discussed, which she expressed during her direct criticism of possible [U.S.] presidential candidate Jeb Bush - former president George W. Bush's brother and part of the presidential race. Jeb Bush had said during his campaign: 'If Obama administration had not withdrawn its armies from Iraq, ISIS would not have been created.' In response to this, the student of politics said: 'it is all because of your brother, who was very fond of sending troops to Iraq.'
ÔÇ£Iraq is far away from us, and it is just possible that we do not understand some issues, but we were part of affairs in Afghanistan. Don't we see that 'til America stayed in Afghanistan, the situation was different; but at the Soviet Union's disintegration, the moment America exited, the region became destabilized and civil war started; and even after years it is still continuing. Not only this, all the countries which were part of [the Afghan] war are gradually coming into its [war's] grip. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are the best examples."
"America Is Such A Double-Edged Sword That Cannot Be Beneficial For The Muslim World; After The Houthis' Advance, It Had Warned Iran That If It Did Not Stop Interference, It Would Not Leave Saudi Arabia Alone"
"Whatever be the nature of our ties with Saudi Arabia, one thing is very clear: these relations are very dear to us. Perhaps, it is more of our economic dependency than religious necessity that we maintain our relations with this country. Not only Saudi Arabia but other Arab countries are in some way partners in our economy. In this situation any decision by us will determine our directions. When the situation worsened in Yemen, a debate [about Yemen] ensued in our country. I had stated before in these columns that if the government was not scared of opposition parties and civil society's criticism, and was not worried that it can be destabilized, [Pakistani Prime Minister] Mian Nawaz Sharif would have become part of the Yemen war without any hesitation. Then he had to tread carefully and he did the same.
"Using the parliament as a shield [i.e. the parliamentarians rejecting Pakistan's involvement in Yemen], Sharif expressed his inability to Saudi rulers [that Pakistan cannot enter the war], though in the recent past Pakistan had received one billion dollars from Saudi Arabia as a 'gift' and our finance minister had said: 'It is nothing more than a gift from one friendly country to another.' This statement was widely debated and some said military power will be provided in exchange [to fight for Saudis in Yemen]. At that time, the Yemen scene had not lit up. If you see now then you realize that Saudi Arabia was taking certain steps as part of future planning [i.e. giving $1 billion to Pakistan with a view to get its military assistance].
"In the Yemen issue, Pakistan had said that it was ready for 'mediation,' which was laughed at by Arabs. Then the Pakistani prime minister, after talking to Turkey and Iran on his own, tried to create unity. The idea was to find a way so that the situation in Yemen becomes moderate. The chances of success for such efforts were less because America could be seen lurking in the background... America is such a double-edged sword that cannot be beneficial for the Muslim world. After the Houthis' advance, it had warned Iran that if it did not stop interference, it would not leave Saudi Arabia alone. But events tell that America did not do anything beyond that statement. In one way, it can be an attempt to provoke Iran. It is not impossible that it [America] has a hand in what happened in Saudi Arabia [i.e. in the terror attacks in the Saudi mosques] so that it can bring in more Islamic countries in the [battle] ground and then it can fulfill its certain dreams [of geostrategic control]."
"Pakistan's Difficulty Is That If It Does Not Support Saudi Arabia In These Circumstances, It Is Very Likely That It May Face Severe Economic Difficulties"
"Pakistan's difficulty is that if it does not support Saudi Arabia in these circumstances, it is very likely that it may face severe economic difficulties. If the Arab world only sends our manpower back home, then foreign exchange in billions of dollars will stop [coming into Pakistan]. Not only that, but when those hundreds of thousands of people carrying the burden of crores [1 crore=10 million] of people will come back unemployed, the government will not be able to bear their burden. Already we are not very stable economically. The reality is that if we do not get loans every quarter of the year, the government's financial support system stops.
"The people who are now opposed to supporting [Saudi Arabia] have a justification that we have earned a lot of sorrows by getting involved in Afghanistan. Indeed, the truth is that the blood which is still oozing from our wounds is the result of that decision [of getting involved in Afghanistan]. On the basis of this, our opposition parties, civil society [i.e. NGOs], and prominent analysts and intellectuals have opposed sending army [to fight for Saudi Arabia in Yemen]. But when we will face instability at economic front, then these people might not remember what they had said
"To avoid this possible situation, if the government supports Saudi Arabia, and in the current situation it is becoming possible, then it in itself is a dangerous situation. Our army has been active for long time to combat raging terrorism in the country. Then Zarb-e-Azb [military operation in North Waziristan] is exhausting it. In addition, there are Indian threats. If in this situation a part of our army takes responsibility for Saudi Arabia's defense, definitely we can suffer internally. In exchange for this, the possibility of economic support can cure our bleeding wounds to some extent
"The government which is facing difficulties at several levels is caught in a bind by the Yemen situation. In other words, we lose if we do and we lose if don't [support the Saudis militarily]. Our tragedy is that our dependence on others has forced us to compromise on many occasions and for this reason we are unable to make our own decisions and often we are at the mercy of events. The way wind blows, it takes us along. No one knows when we will reach the stage which makes a nation's identity."
Source: Roznama Islam (Pakistan) May 27, 2015.
