He said that Pakistan condemns the actions by non-state actors in Yemen to overthrow a legitimate government, and calls upon the warring factions to resolve all issues peacefully. He said, "Pakistan fully supports Saudi Arabia, and any violation of its sovereignty or territorial integrity will evoke a strong response from Pakistan. Our concerned authorities will stay engaged with their Saudi counterparts in this regard."
"This was our stance from the beginning and this is what we said on our delegation's visit to Riyadh," he said.
He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in close liaison with the neighbouring countries and has also visited Turkey in this regard and will also visit other regional countries for more consultations.
The Minster said that during the visit of the Prime Minister to Turkey, "Pakistan and Turkey agreed that continued crisis in Yemen could plunge the region into turmoil. Both the leaders agreed to call upon the warring factions in Yemen to resolve the issues peacefully through dialogue."
He said that Pakistan and Turkey also have close and brotherly relations with other Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries and attach great importance to their security and territorial integrity. "Both the countries have also agreed that it was in our interest to keep our region free of turmoil. This can only be achieved by keeping the Muslim Ummah united," he added.
The Minister said that both the leaders reflected on various ways and means to find an early settlement of the issue. Pakistan would stay engaged with the Saudi leadership and other friends in this regard, he said.
He said that Prime Minister's visit to Turkey took place at an opportune moment since Prince Mohammad Bin Naif of Saudi Arabia is expected to visit Turkey on April 6 and the following day President Erdogan would visit Iran. He said that the Turkish leadership informed us that Turkish Foreign Minister would then visit Pakistan to brief our leadership. He said, meanwhile the Foreign Minister of Iran would also visit Pakistan on 8 April. This would provide a welcome opportunity for Pakistan and Turkey to make joint efforts to help resolve the crisis, he added.
The Minister said that in keeping with the tradition of democracy, we would welcome the views of the honourable members of the Parliament to better understand the implications of the situation for Pakistan. The PML-N government would greatly appreciate the valuable guidance from the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. "We are confident that the debate in the Parliament would enable the government to formulate our policy in a manner that would reflect the aspirations of the people of Pakistan and also protect our vital national interests," he added.
He said due to the government's efforts the Pakistanis stranded in Yemen are being evacuated safely. He thanked Saudi Arabia, China and other countries for extending their support for safe evacuation of Pakistanis.
The Minister also spoke of the sacrifices rendered by our soldiers in the on-going war against terrorism. He added that the Pakistan army is the only army which is battling terrorism head on.