THE two-million plus Pakistani community living in Saudi Arabia have been watching the recent developments on the Kingdom’s southern borders with deep concern. Majority of Pakistani expats consider Saudi Arabia as their first home. This affection is not one-sided. Saudi Arabia also, be it the government, the royal family or the people, never made Pakistanis feel strangers since their first batch arrived here some 50 years ago to work for Saudi Aramco. There has always been an unsaid, unconditional fraternal bond and commitment with Saudi Arabia, not just because of the two Holy Mosques but also because of the special relationship between the two nations and the utmost trust Kingdom places in Pakistan and Pakistanis.
Kingdom has always relied and counted on us without a second thought and it’s our duty not to let Saudi Arabia down at this critical time. We know that when Pakistan was suffering from international sanctions and the entire world had abandoned us because of our nuclear program, only Saudi Arabia helped us ignoring the sanctions and risking American anger and reaction, not to mention the financing we received on numerous other occasions that may have also enabled us to develop our country’s defense. Saudi Arabia always acted in the best interest of Pakistan. It made every effort to spare the lives of Maulana Maududi and Z. A. Bhutto and provided shelter to incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his difficult times. Saudi Arabia never wanted bloodshed and chaos in Pakistan.
Pakistanis, who have rendered great sacrifices for democracy in Pakistan, have the utmost respect for Parliament and the parliamentary process. Pakistani expatriates are aware of the positions of the concerned parties and understand that this resolution is in the interest of our country.
But it is important to see the crisis in Yemen and the evolving geo-political situation in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region in their correct perspectives. The presence of over five million Pakistanis in the Gulf states has not been taken into account when some parliamentarians piled pressure on the government of Nawaz Sharif — who wanted to accept the Kingdom’s request unconditionally — to adopt the questionable resolution.
A review of this resolution is therefore warranted because the parliamentary process to reach the conclusion was not done with the input of all stakeholders, including the Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia and GCC; Pakistani diplomats serving in GCC/Middle Eastern countries; the armed forces who have or had defense commitments with most GCC countries including Saudi Arabia for ages; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Defense etc, reason by reason, argument by argument. All stakeholders should have been heard. The popular public opinion has not been taken into consideration. Our leadership is capable of making bold decisions. As the second largest and only nuclear Muslim state in the world, Pakistan has a responsibility greater than other Muslim states. Peace talks with the rebels in Yemen without the position of strength is meaningless. We must stand side by side with Saudi Arabia now and there should be no second thought, only then will the rebels understand their correct position.
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The writer is the CEO of Saudi Steel and senior vice president of ASB Group
