Pakistan says it's part of Saudi-led anti-terror coalition

Islamabad - Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah told reporters on Thursday here that, "yes, we're part of it."

islamabad - After initial ambiguity, the Pakistan government confirmed on Thursday its participation in a Saudi-led military alliance for 'fighting terrorism', but said the scope of its participation would be defined after Riyadh shared the details of the coalition it was assembling.
Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah told reporters on Thursday here that, "yes, we're part of it."
He also denied media reports from Wednesday that claimed Pakistan was "surprised" when its membership in the 34-member group was announced on Tuesday. He insisted Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry had earlier only said that Pakistan was "ascertaining details" about the announcement.
Khalilullah went on to say that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been exchanging ideas on how to deal with terrorism.
"Pakistan is awaiting further details to decide the extent of its participation in different activities of the alliance," a statement issued by the Foreign Office said.
The Foreign Office said it consistently supported all efforts at fighting terrorism and a resolution adopted at the 42nd session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had called on members to "join regional and international efforts to fight terrorism and extremist thought".
Saudi Arabia had announced on Tuesday that it had forged the 34-nation alliance of Muslim countries for fighting terrorism and extremism, which included Pakistan. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir had later explained that the participating countries would themselves decide about the extent of their participation.
The coalition was envisaged to serve as a platform for security cooperation, including provision of training, equipment and troops, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing with extremism.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry initially expressed surprise at Pakistan being included in the new group, and said that Riyadh had not taken Islamabad on board. But subsequent developments revealed that Saudi Arabia had been given a secret commitment regarding joining the alliance, about which the Foreign Office was not aware.
news@khaleejtimes.com (With inputs from AP)

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