(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan for military aircraft, warships and soldiers, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said yesterday, at the start of a parliamentary debate on whether Pakistan should get involved in a Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.
"Saudi Arabia has asked for combat planes, warships and soldiers," Asif said, without specifying where Saudi wanted them deployed.
Arif Rafiq, a Washington-based adjunct scholar with the Middle East Institute, said earlier Pakistan was hoping to satisfy Saudi expectations at a "minimal" level. "They're unlikely to be part of any meaningful action inside Yemen," he said. "Maybe they will reinforce the border."
In the debate yesterday, Aitzaz Ahsan, Senate leader of opposition, demanded Sharif clarify his comments. "What does (defence minister) Khawaja Asif mean by the violation of sovereignty of Saudi Arabia and the strong response from Pakistan?" he asked. "If the government wants to send troops to Yemen or Saudi Arabia, what will their exact mandate be?"
Meanwhile, fierce clashes raged yesterday between rebels and loyalists in southern Yemen, leaving more than 140 dead in 24 hours, as the Red Cross faced delays to urgently needed aid deliveries.
The bloodiest fighting occurred between rebels and loyalists of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi in the main southern city of Aden, officials said.
More than a third of those slain in the past 24 hours - 53 - were killed as rebels tried to seize a port in the city. At least 19 Houthis and 15 pro-Hadi militiamen were killed overnight in the town of Daleh, north of Aden, officials said, and seven other people died in the southern province of Abyan.
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