Earlier this week Saudi Arabia announced a new 34-country coalition of Muslim nations to fight terrorism, but two of the key countries have said they had no idea they were involved.
The countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world were combining their efforts to combat extremism, according to the Saudis, who have faced mounting pressure to step up efforts in addressing the threat of extremism.
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Chaudhry, has been quoted as saying he only learnt of his country’s inclusion in the alliance from news reports.
Despite being a long-term ally of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan has refrained from joining its military exploits, instead reaffirming its position of non-involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. In November, army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa stated: “We are not looking for any involvement outside our region.”
Lebanon was also equally baffled country following the announcement, according to Lebanese media outlet Naharnet...Foreign Ministry was adamant they had no “memo or phone call mentioning this coalition.” They added they had :"No knowledge whatsoever of the issue of forming an Islamic anti-terror coalition."
The office also questioned whether the move encroached on their ‘constitutional jurisdiction on foreign affairs’.
More at this link.
I am relieved at Pakistan abstaining from this. In the initial announcement thread, I opined that Asian Muslims, especially from the -stan countries, should not get involved in Arab affairs, as doing so would paint a massive target on our backs by ISIS and other terror groups.
It was disappointing that it seemed like Pakistan didn't join the rest of us in the -stan countries from abstaining, but it turns out that it was merely a premature assumption on Saudi Arabia's part, with respect to Pakistan's participation.
I swear, sometimes it feels like Saudia Arabia views Pakistan as some slave nation that will go along with any scheme, with minimal objection. There was also an intense political spat earlier this year between the UAE officials and Pakistan, as Pakistan did not wish to get involved in bombing Yemen....
