ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has deployed no troops in Qatar amid the oil-rich country’s standoff with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said in a statement that reports about the deployment of Pakistan Army in Qatar were “completely fabricated and baseless”.
He added: “These false reports appear to be part of a malicious campaign aimed at creating misunderstanding between Pakistan and brotherly Muslim countries in the Gulf.”
Reports said that Pakistan had decided to send military contingent to Qatar following Turkey who sent troops to the state.
There were claims that Pakistan could send up to 20,000 soldiers to Qatar.
This month Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cut diplomatic ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting terror networks.
Pakistan did not follow the friendly countries as it also had close ties with Qatar.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has personal ties with both the Saudi and Qatari royal families.
Government officials said that Prime Minister Sharif had launched a campaign to settle the Saudi-Qatar row through talks.
“The PM may soon visit both the countries to play his role,” one official told The Nation.
Pakistan had tried to play a similar role between Saudi Arabia and Iran without any positive results.
The Saudi-Qatar row comes at a time when Pakistan is going through tensions with India, Iran and Afghanistan.
Pakistan recently allowed former army chief General Raheel Sharif to command a Saudi Arabia-led military alliance of 39 Muslim-majority states.
The alliance was formed by Saudi Arabia in December 2015 with its headquarters in Riyadh.
Iran had objected to the formation of the alliance fearing it was a Sunni-alliance rather than a Muslim alliance.
The government had also delayed giving approval to General Raheel Sharif – considering Iran’s objections - for several months before finally giving a nod to the former army chief.
At his weekly media briefing last week, foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan believed in unity among Muslim-majority countries.
“We have made consistent efforts for its promotion. The situation [Saudi-Qatar tension] therefore, is a matter of concern,” he added.
Former ambassador Shahid Amin said that Pakistan needed to play a role that could bring the two countries closer rather than siding with one party.
He said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had been great supporters of Pakistan in the past, and Pakistan could not afford to lose any one of them.
“They are all Muslims and we should not let them fight among themselves. We have a role to play and hopefully the tension will be resolved soon,” Amin said.
FO rejects Indian claim about Xi’s snub
INP adds: Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nafees Zakaria also rejected Indian propaganda about skipping of Chinese President Xi’s meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and clarified that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Chinese President twice at the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Earlier, Indian media propagated that Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped a customary meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana after the reported killing of two Chinese teachers in Balochistan.
Zakaria dubbed Indian propaganda baseless and clarified that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Chinese President Xi Jinping twice at the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Matters of mutual interests, bilateral, regional and international affairs came under discussion in the meeting.
While talking about Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir, the Foreign Office spokesperson said Pakistan will continue its support to Kashmiris in their movement for self-determination right.
Shafqat Ali
