First we were told that Pakistan is only training the Saudi forces. Then, Pakistan is only sharing intelligence with the Saudis. Now Pakistan is taking part in a military exercise with aggressive designs towards Syria. Step by step, gradually but unmistakably, the country is being put on a path that leads to the quagmire of the ongoing war in the Gulf. Earlier, Saudi Arabia spearheading a coalition of nine Arab states, began carrying out airstrikes in the neighbouring Yemen and imposing an aerial and naval blockade. The incursion was supposed to defeat the Houthis and deliver Yemen within a short period. Eleven months into the war, there is still no conclusion to the hostilities in sight. Pakistan was saved unnecessary bloodletting because the government took the issue to Parliament which insisted on Pakistan’s neutrality and resolution of the dispute through peaceful means. This time the government has aced unwisely by taking part in the exercise without discussing the matter in Parliament.
Saudi Arabia is clear about its aims. It is not the Daesh it wants to eliminate but the Syrian government. Saudi foreign minister told CNN President Assad ‘will be removed by force’ if peace talks fail. The aim of the Northern Thunder is to not defend Saudi territory from invasion but to prepare for sending troops under a ruse to overthrow a government which Pakistan recognises as legitimate. Syria has already warned that Saudi or other foreign troops entering the country would “return home in wooden coffins”. Iran which is an ally of Syria has taken a similar stand. By joining the Northern Thunder Pakistan has sent a wrong message that it agrees with the Saudi policy in the Gulf.
Good relations with all Muslim countries have been a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Another cornerstone is not to send troops to fight other countries’ wars. Even when Pakistan was badly in need of US weapons and financial support in the early years of its history, it refused to send even a token military unit to the Korean War despite the US pressure.http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/02/15/comment/northern-thunder/
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