Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accompanies by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has embarked on a trip to Saudi Arabia in an effort to lessen the tension among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. According to State Radio, during his visit, the prime minister will hold talks with the Saudi leadership on the latest situation developing among the GCC countries.
The crisis began when Arab powers, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, took the unprecedented decision to cut off their air, sea and land links to Qatar earlier this month, accusing Doha of sponsoring terrorism in the Middle East. Qatar rejected the allegations and said it is open to talks on ending the dispute, which also saw the three Gulf States order all Qataris out of their countries within 14 days.
On Sunday, Pakistan denied reports that it is deploying troops in Qatar. A statement issued by the Foreign Office termed the reports appearing in some foreign media outlets about the deployment of Pakistani troops in Qatar as ‘completely fabricated and baseless’. Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria stressed that ‘these false reports appear to be part of a malicious campaign aimed at creating misunderstanding between Pakistan and brotherly Muslim countries in the Gulf.’
It is pertinent to mention that the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution which called on all conflicting states to shun their differences. The National Assembly resolution and the visit of Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff shows Pakistan’s strong to assist in putting an end to the crisis. At a time when the Ummah is facing a number of very serious challenges, particularly that of terrorism that has plagued many Islamic countries it is important to shun differences.
The regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the recent crisis has divided the Muslim world which will only harm the Muslim countries. There is a need to resolve issues through dialogues and maintain unity. Pakistan’s efforts in this regard prove that it realizes the potential consequences of a divide among Muslim countries. Hopefully the Pakistan leadership will be successful in bridging the gap between these countries.
Plagued with challenges likes terrorism, the Muslim Ummah needs unity, not rivalries.