Pak calls joint Parl session over military support on Yemen

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today called for a special joint session of parliament on Monday to decide whether to join the Saudi-led coalition of mainly Gulf states fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Sharif asked President Mamnoon Hussain to convene the joint session on the matter of "national importance" after he was briefed by a high-level delegation that travelled to Riyadh on Tuesday and held "good" discussions with Saudi leadership.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who led the delegation to Riyadh, briefed Sharif about his talks with Saudi Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman. Asif apprised the leaders about the demands made by the Saudi government in view of the crisis, reports said.

Saudi Arabia has requested military help from Pakistan, with which it shares close ties, though Islamabad is yet to give a clear indication of support to the Kingdom.
Pakistan seems to be wary of reaching a decision apparently due to Iran's support to the Shia Houthi rebels as well as chances of a sectarian discord in the country that is majorly Sunni-dominated like Saudi Arabia but also has a 20 per cent Shia population.
Soon after the briefing, the Prime Minister's Office reiterated the country's support to Saudi Arabia and said any violation of its the territorial integrity would evoke a "strong response".

"Given the close historical cultural and religious affinities between the peoples of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was reaffirmed that any isolation of Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity will evoke a strong response from Pakistan," the statement said.

"...The prime minister further emphasised that all decisions in the matter will be taken in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan. To this end, the prime minister is advising the president to convene a joint session of parliament on Monday April 6 to discuss this matter of national importance," the statement said.
There is widespread opposition to Pakistan joining the war in Yemen, and several politicians and retired army officers have cautioned the government to avoid becoming part of a conflict which has sectarian faultlines and can create domestic troubles.

Yesterday, Pakistan's major opposition parties demanded that the government call a meeting of all parties over the "sensitive" issue.
The Saudi-led military coalition is conducting airstrikes against the Houthi rebels' southward advance on the port city of Aden, the last bastion of Saudi-backed president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi that suffered heavy shelling overnight.
The statement criticised "actions by non-state actors in Yemen to overthrow a legitimate government".