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PM reaffirms commitment to Saudi Arabia's territorial sovereignty in policy statement

PM reaffirms commitment to Saudi Arabia's territorial sovereignty in policy statement
April 13, 2015
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday termed Saudi Arabia's sovereignty as the main pillar of Pakistan's foreign policy. In a policy statement over Yemen, Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan's long term commitment to Saudi Arabia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability as the main pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy. The Prime Minister said Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners especially at a time when their security is under threat. He said Saudi Arabia is one of the most important strategic allies of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan attaches importance to sanctity of the two holy mosques and full support to their custodian. The Prime Minister said Pakistan has conveyed its firm assurance to Saudi brothers that we shall stand shoulder to shoulder with them. “Pakistan strongly condemned actions of Houthi rebels and other non-state actors to overthrow the legitimate Government of Yemen and expressed serious concern at the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.  There is urgency of finding a peaceful solution to the crisis through dialogue among warring factions.” The Prime Minister said the resolution passed by the Parliament fully endorses these principles and strengthens the hands to the Government for playing a positive and constructive role. “The resolution has affirmed in clear and categorical terms that any violation of the Saudi territorial sovereignty or threat to the two holy mosques would evoke a strong response from Pakistan,” he said. Mian Nawaz Sharif said these assurances have been given despite massive commitments of our armed forces in the on-going operation Zarb-e-Azb, adding that hundreds of brave Pakistani soldiers and security personnel have laid down their lives in the war against terror. The Prime Minister said Pakistan has already intensified contacts with Saudi Arabia to monitor the ground situation and possible threats to the security and territorial integrity of the Kingdom. He said we believe that restoration of President Hadi's Government will be an important step forward towards establishing peace in Yemen. The Prime Minister said he conveyed to the Iranian Foreign Minister during his recent visit to Pakistan that violent overthrow of legitimate Government of Yemen had set a dangerous precedent that was fraught with serious risks for the entire region. Mian Nawaz Sharif said he urged that Iran should use its influence to bring Houthi rebels to the negotiating table. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said government is also in touch with other countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to assure them that their disappointment was based on apparent misinterpretation of parliamentary resolution. The Prime Minister said his government continues to follow the policy of fortifying and strengthening bonds of friendship with GCC countries. There should not be any doubt about our policy of solidarity with GCC states. He said some media reports are speculative and tend to create misunderstanding between Pakistan and its Arab brothers. He said Pakistan has not responded to speculations because we believe that public comments would be counter-productive. The Prime Minister announced that Pakistan would intensify its diplomatic efforts in coming days in consultations with leadership of Saudi Arabia to resolve Yemeni crisis. Earlier, the Prime Minister chaired a high level consultative meeting on Yemen situation. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry.