#Pakistan PM says 'no hurry' to decide on joining #Yemen coalition

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan is "not in a hurry" to decide whether to join the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in Yemen, the prime minister said Tuesday, before a round of shuttle diplomacy involving Iran and Turkey.

Nawaz Sharif told a special parliamentary debate on Yemen he thought the diplomatic efforts planned for the coming days would yield results.

Saudi Arabia has asked its longstanding ally Pakistan to contribute planes, ships and ground troops to the operation against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But Pakistan has resisted so far, calling for a diplomatic solution and saying it does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world.

Iran, the major Shia power, has strongly criticised the military operation in Yemen by a coalition of largely Sunni Muslim nations. It accuses Saudi Arabia of sowing instability with its air campaign.

Sharif has said any Pakistani participation would need the backing of parliament and convened a special session to debate the matter.

He told lawmakers on Tuesday that he did not want to "manipulate you to get a mandate".

"Take your time, we are not in a hurry, we will take all your good points and I want the parliament also to say something about demands of our friends," said Sharif, who was sheltered by Saudi Arabia when overthrown in a 1999 military coup.

Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Friday and said afterwards both countries wanted a peaceful resolution to the Yemen crisis.

More talks involving Turkey, Iran and Pakistan are planned in the coming days, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan due to meet the leadership in Tehran on Tuesday.

Sharif told parliament he expected these diplomatic efforts quickly to bear fruit.

"We are actually waiting for an answer, which I expect will arrive by tomorrow," Sharif said, adding that Turkey may send its foreign minister or convey the message by phone.

"We will see what we can do after that. We might visit other Muslim countries together."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is due in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

Pakistan faces a tricky dilemma over intervention in Yemen. It has long enjoyed military ties with Riyadh and has benefited hugely from the oil-rich kingdom's largesse over the years.

#Egypt's defence minister heads to #Pakistan military cooperation talks

Egyptian defence minister heads to Islamabad, as the Pakistani parliament debates military support to the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen

Egypt's defence minister Sedkey Sobhi heads to Pakistan

Egypt’s defence minister Sedki Sobhi on Monday headed to Pakistan for talks on military cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement from Egyptian armed forces.

Sobhi is scheduled to stay in the Pakistani capital Islamabad for several days to meet with officials from the Pakistani defence ministry, according to the statement.

The Pakistani parliament is currently debating whether or not to provide military support to the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, after a request for such help from Saudi Arabia.

Houthi fighters have taken over several cities in Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. At the end of March, their advance on the southern port city of Aden prompted Saudi Arabia and regional allies including Egypt to launch airstrikes against them.

Egypt, who is participating in the operation with its navy and air force, has not ruled out the possibility of deploying ground forces in Yemen if needed.

Pakistan played host to Egyptian warships during the 1973 Egyptian-Israeli war, and both countries have since maintained strong ties.

Since 2007, both countries have cooperated on economic and investment projects, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry's website. 

Pakistan delegation heads to Saudi Arabia after Yemen request

Pakistan's government said Thursday it will dispatch a top civil-military delegation to Saudi Arabia following Riyadh's request that it join a coalition to defend Yemen's president, promising a "strong response" to any threat to the Gulf kingdom.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to send the group to Saudi Arabia on Friday after meeting with top defence and military officials in Islamabad late Thursday, his office said in a statement.

"The meeting concluded that any threat to Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan," he said, adding that Pakistan's defence minister and Sharif's national security advisor would travel to the country, along with top military figures.

Sharif told the meeting that "Pakistan enjoys close and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and attaches great importance to their security."

The Gulf kingdom has begun air strikes against Shia Houthi rebels and the Saudi ambassador in Washington said a coalition of 10 countries, including Pakistan, was being formed to protect the Yemeni government.

The rebels and their allies had been closing in on main southern city Aden, where President Abd-rabbo Mansour Hadi has been holed up since fleeing the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa last month.

Their advance raised Saudi fears that the Shia minority rebels would seize control of the whole of its Sunni-majority neighbour and take it into the orbit of Shia Iran.

Yemen is teetering on the brink of civil war as turmoil has grown since Houthis launched a power grab in February.

Islamabad has longstanding close ties to Saudi Arabia, and foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the kingdom had asked Pakistan to join the coalition.

"I can confirm we have been contacted by Saudi Arabia in this regard. The matter is being examined. That's all I have to say at the moment," she told a regular press briefing.

Aslam said no decision had been taken yet on whether to close the Pakistani embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

The official Saudi Press Agency said earlier that Pakistan, along with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan, had all "expressed desire to participate in the operation".

Egypt and Jordan have confirmed they will join Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the coalition.

However, joining the coalition might irk Pakistan's minority Shia community and neighbour Iran.

Pakistan has suffered a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, most of it perpetrated by hardline Sunni Muslim groups against minority Shia Muslims, who make up around one in five of the population.