Commenting on the timing of the NOC to former army chief, senior analyst Lieutenant General Talat Masood (Retd) said that either it could be a happy coincidence or a deliberate move to divert the attention of political parties. He said that since the government took the decision without consulting the opposition political parties that have expressed serious reservations on the issue, fearing it may spoil Pakistan's relations with neighbouring Iran.
The decision, however, contravened the unanimous joint resolution passed by a special joint sitting of Parliament after a five-day exhaustive debate on April 10, 2015, which stated: "It [Parliament] apprehends that the crisis in Yemen could plunge the region into turmoil; [Parliament] desires that Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis".
Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security Lieutenant General Nasir Janjua (Retd) recently acknowledged while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a business summit, that Pakistan allowed the former army chief General Raheel Sharif to head the Saudi-led military alliance under pressure from Riyadh.
He further stated that the Saudis had included the name of Pakistan in the alliance without consent, leaving Islamabad with no option but to allow the former army chief to lead the alliance. "We had no option but to join the alliance; the Saudis were not ready to accept any other retired general or even a serving general of Pakistan except Raheel Sharif...we had two options either to deteriorate our relations with them [Saudis] which was [obviously] not possible/advisable or to accept whatever they say," said Janjua.
The NSA reiterated that the Saudi Alliance was solely founded by Saudi Arabia and the selection of countries in the fold was again the prerogative of the Saudis."If General Raheel becomes the head of the Islamic Military Alliance, he would never represent any specific sect or sects," he said, adding that Pakistan will remain neutral and will not take sides.
However, military sources were optimistic that General Raheel Sharif (Retd) who enjoyed good relations with all Islamic countries will play his due role in furthering the cause of the Muslim Ummah. Brigadier John Kenneth William (Retd), a PTI member on the Senate Defence Committee, said that no opposition political party was taken into confidence before giving the go ahead to the former army chief to command an alliance which has no terms of references (ToRs) as yet.
He said that the issue will not only be discussed in the Defence Committee of the Senate but also on the floor of the House. He further said that the government probably timed his departure knowing that the peoples focus was the Panamagate verdict.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had informed the Senate on April 13, 2017 that the former army chief would formally apply for an NOC after the ToRs were made public. He also said that the aims and objectives of the alliance would be presented to Parliament before a formal decision would be made on whether Pakistan should become a part of it or not. He said that the Saudi government would host all the member countries in May, where it would unveil the ToRs of the alliance. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former CoAS General Raheel Sharif will attend the event," Asif stated in his statement to the House.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017