Damage control

Asif Ezdi
Last Wednesday, Nawaz Sharif sent Shahbaz as his special envoy to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to defuse the crisis in Pakistan-Saudi relations arising from Islamabad’s inability to join the Saudi-led military campaign to roll back the advance of the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
This was the second high-level delegation sent by Nawaz to Saudi Arabia since the crisis erupted in late March. The job of Shahbaz was not made any easier by the fact that between the two visits, a joint session of parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government to “maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis”.
The resolution, which was hammered out in negotiations between the government and the opposition parties, in effect rebuffed the Saudi request for Pakistani ground troops, warplanes and warships for the anti-Houthi campaign. The Saudi government did not react in public to parliament’s vote and the Saudi spokesman played down the military significance of the Pakistani decision. “If Pakistani troops join, it would be an addition to the coalition, but their absence won’t affect the military operation”, said Brig Gen. Asiri. “Other countries in the coalition are as capable and trained to perform in any terrain and environment.”
Nevertheless, it is obvious that Riyadh is deeply disappointed at Pakistan’s refusal to join the coalition, which is a major setback in the Saudi effort to show that the coalition against the Houthis consists not only of fellow Sunni Arab states but also countries from the wider Islamic world. In a continuing effort to win Pakistan’s support, the Saudi government therefore sent its minister for religious affairs to Pakistan to explain the Saudi viewpoint on Yemen to the Pakistani public, especially to religious scholars.
Speaking to the Pakistani press, the Saudi minister said the resolution was Pakistan’s internal matter and

that relations between the two countries would remain strong and keep going forward. He also implicitly rejected any mediation in the crisis, such as that suggested in parliament’s resolution.
Despite differences over the question of Yemen, it is obvious that neither Pakistan nor Saudi Arabia will allow it to jeopardise their strategic partnership which is of vital importance to both. For Pakistan, the ties with Riyadh form the anchor of the country’s Middle East policy; and for Saudi Arabia, the relationship is essential to its claim of leadership in the Muslim world. Both sides have, therefore, sought to maintain a high-level dialogue on the Yemen issue and insulate it from areas in which they have been cooperating.
In an effort to limit any negative fallout on Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia, Nawaz made a ‘policy statement’ on the Yemen crisis to reassure the Saudis three days after the resolution was adopted. In that statement, he called Saudi Arabia one of Pakistan’s most important strategic allies and said that Pakistan would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its Saudi brothers, but did not touch on the question of Pakistan’s participation in the military operation against the Houthis. Nawaz also sought to assure the GCC countries that their disappointment was based on an “apparent misinterpretation” of parliament’s resolution.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Shahbaz conveyed the same message in his meetings with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal. Contrary to expectations, the delegation did not have a meeting with Crown Prince Muqrin. It is unlikely that the Pakistani special envoy was able to win the complete understanding of the Saudi leadership for Pakistan’s stance during his short visit.
While the Saudis have refrained from publicly criticising Pakistan for its inability to join the anti-Houthi coalition, some other Arab leaders have not shown the same restraint in giving vent to their disappointment. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash was particularly trenchant in comments tweeted by him after the passage of the resolution. He criticised both Pakistan and Turkey for their “equivocal and contradictory stands” but singled out Pakistan in holding out the possibility of negative consequences.
“Pakistan must have a clear stance for the sake of its strategic relations with the Gulf states”, said the UAE minister. “Positions that are contradictory in such fateful issues have a high cost”, Gargash warned. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Jarwan, the speaker of the Arab Parliament, a body of the Arab League, also expressed his shock and disappointment at the parliamentary resolution.
While the foreign ministry has quite correctly chosen to ignore Gargash’s tirade, the interior minister decided to respond in kind to the UAE foreign minister by issuing an equally undiplomatic riposte. The statement of the UAE minister, Nisar said, “is in stark violation of all diplomatic norms. … Pakistan is an honoured nation and has brotherly emotions for the people of UAE along with Saudi Arabia, but this statement of an Emirati minister is equal to an offence against the ego of Pakistan (sic) and its people and is unacceptable.”
The following day Nisar received a standing ovation in the Senate for having reprimanded the UAE minister. Instead of playing to the gallery, as they did by applauding Nisar’s remarks, our honourable senators would have been well-advised to do some soul-searching and pay heed to the interior minister’s remark that it was “a thought-provoking moment that a minister of UAE is hurling threats at Pakistan”.
If our lawmakers did some honest introspection, they would be unable to escape the conclusion that they themselves are responsible for the present state of affairs in which our economy has come to depend so much on infusions of money from foreign countries and agencies including a few rich Gulf states and on remittances from Pakistani expatriate labour in these countries. If our ruling class did not cheat so brazenly in paying their taxes, if they did not steal public money so massively and if they did not siphon off the wealth of the country to their overseas bank accounts and to acquire overseas assets and properties such as the Surrey Palace and in London’s Park Lane, Pakistan would not be facing the kind of threats that Gargash held out.
A recent Reuters report on the dilemma facing Pakistan in the Yemen crisis noted that because of endemic tax dodging, Pakistan needs regular injections of foreign cash, such as the transfer of $1.5 billion given by Saudi Arabia last year, to avoid economic meltdown. The tax-to-GDP ratio in Pakistan today stands at a dismal eight percent, about half that in India, and successive governments in Pakistan, whether military or civilian, have ensured through their policies that the rich continue to enjoy the freedom to cheat in the payment of taxes.
Our ruling class has also cheated the country by denying adequate education and training opportunities to the common man. Instead, they have promoted the ‘export of manpower’ as a means of relieving the pressure of unemployment and of boosting foreign remittances. Most of the Pakistani migrant labour overseas takes up menial and other low-paid jobs in the Gulf States where, because of the kifala system, they are treated as little better than slaves. They could now face deportation if the UAE were to carry out the threat to make Pakistan pay heavily for its refusal to join the anti-Houthi coalition.
Our politicians have such little self-respect that they have tolerated and even encouraged and invited interference by the Gulf monarchies in our domestic politics, as happened in the political crisis following the rigged election of 1977. The part played by the Saudis in the political deal that saved Nawaz Sharif from Musharraf’s wrath and sent the former prime minister into exile in the kingdom is a more recent example. Even the Pakistani Supreme Court could not assert its writ over the Saudi-brokered deal.
Besides, the way our political leaders fawn upon Gulf monarchies is a disgrace. Last week, our information minister called them “hamare mohsin” (our benefactors). No wonder they treat Pakistan the way they do. The threat of a “heavy price” held out by Gargash fits into that larger pattern and should not surprise us.
The writer is a former member of the Pakistan Foreign Service.
Email: asifezdi@yahoo.com