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‘US set to supply 8 F-16s to Pakistan’
Posted On Jan 20 2016
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Sharif, for his part, stressed the importance of improving solidarity and unity among Muslims and said his country has always made efforts to ease tensions and iron out differences.
Mr Asif, who looks after the key portfolios of water and power as well as defence, said in a policy statement before the house: “After Iran, Pakistan has the second largest Shia population in the world, so how can we even think of joining an anti-Shia military alliance”.
On the question of Iran, Syria and Iraq’s exclusion from the recently announced 34-nation alliance by the Kingdom, it was stated that the countries were not included due to a trust deficit. “The alliance has no military objectives and aimed at to prepare a joint counter-terrorism narrative”.
PTI MNA Shafqat Mehmood said that perceptions mattered in global affairs and now it seemed as if Pakistan was toeing the Saudi line with regard to the coalition, which is viewed with suspicion in Tehran. He said this alliance and Pakistan’s role in the alliance should not be prejudged. He said the prime minister should take parliament into confidence on the issue.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States (US) along with India are trying to block the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. He added that these fighter jets had played a vital role in eliminating the hideouts of terrorists in Operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Former ambassador of Pakistan Husain Haqqani dismissed Khawaja Asif’s allegations against him on Twitter, reported Dunya News.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had arrived in Tehran Tuesday ─ a day after holding meetings with Saudi leadership in Riyadh in a bid to defuse tensions between the two countries that soar after the hanging of a Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia.
PPP’s Sayed Naveed Qamar said Pakistan could not afford to become party in the tension between the two Islamic states. He said neutrality on the issue was a must and it should be handled carefully.
