RIYADH: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia for a day-long visit on Thursday for talks on the situation in Yemen with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and the Saudi leadership.
According to sources, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting on the situation in Yemen as the Pakistani delegation was travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, PM’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry are also part of the delegation accompanying the premier and Army chief.
Talks between the visiting delegation and the Saudi royal leadership will commence in the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. The two sides will put their heads together to make an assessment of the situation in joint consultations before they reach a conclusion.
It is a rare occasion that the Pakistani civil and military leadership is visiting the kingdom together.
The decision for the PM’s visit and the Army chief to accompany him was taken at a high-level meeting of civil-military leaders which lasted for over three hours on Wednesday.
The meeting discussed Pakistan's official position on the Yemen conflict after Saudi-led coalition forces announced an end to air strikes against Houthi rebels.
The meeting also discussed Saudi Arabia's request to Pakistan for military assistance in the Yemen operation, and the recent joint parliamentary resolution urging the government to stay neutral in the Middle East conflict.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam, while briefing media in Islamabad on Thursday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has gone to Saudi Arabia to have consultations with Saudi leadership to find an amicable solution to the Yemen issue.
Pakistan, a longtime ally of Saudi Arabia, has resisted a request by the kingdom to join coalition forces in the operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The News International Pak
