LAHORE (Staff Report) – Former Federal Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani urged the government to do away with all its confusion and paralysis over military assistance to the Kingdom, saying that emergent corrective measures are needed to be taken to ensure stability and security of the Kingdom which was a time-tested friend of Pakistan and its people.
He said this on Wednesday while addressing to the first ever women conference in view of Yemen crisis and Saudi-Pak relations, which was organized by Civil society Front with the theme ‘The way and manner the Pakistan government handled the matter of a serious nature’.
Muhammad Ali Durrani said that Saudi-Pak relations stand on cross road at a critical phase of history, where a brotherly country yearning for our help that has helped Pakistan since its inception during all testing times.
“The lukewarm and cold response of our government has only added injury to insult that has perturbed every patriot”, he added.
He appreciated and congratulated Rukham Khan and his team for organizing such a timely and important event representing the women folk across the Pakistan and it would strengthen relations with brotherly Islamic countries.
Durrani also welcomed the suggestion of establishment of ‘Saudi-Pak Women Council’ and stressed to operationalise it at the earliest.
Sarfraz Bugti, Interior Minister of Balochistan, expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia, said you help a friend in time of need and request instead of making excuses under one or other pretext. “The mediation logic does not fit to the on ground situation and facts prevailing in the context of Yemen crisis and we should try to cover the damage by conveying our fullest support and assurances to a time tested friend, KSA,” he said.
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, President Council of Pakistan News Papers Editors (CPNE) said the whole context of scenario was changed due to unwise selection of word ‘neutral’ that send a bad signal.
“We could have used an appropriate expression while conveying our collective thought to our brotherly countries specially the Saudi Arabia”, he added.
Zia Shahid, a media veteran, said that we must not forget the fact that every Muslim has a very specially bonding with Harmain-e-Sharifian regardless of government or the rulers. We should not meddle in Yemen crisis but we must have sent our troops for the defence of Saudi Arabia in view of the information that militants were provided with missiles, having the capacity to target KSA.
Saleem Safi, senior anchor and columnist, said in the light of bilateral relations spanning over decades of mutual trust and an open support for Pakistan by Saudis despite all international odds, we should have reciprocated with an equal open support. “Any third country should not be a factor when it pertains to bilateral relations,” he argued.
