Saudi Defense Minister Briefing Media About Coalition
Dr. Mazhar Naqvi
What a farce? Saudi
Government has formed a coalition of 34 Islamic nations to fight against
terrorism. The declaration made by Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman about
the alliance has rightly left several nations bewildered and irked controversy.
Pakistan was first to react and express surprise over inclusion of its
name in the list of allies.“I was surprised to read the news that Saudi Arabia
had named Pakistan as part of the alliance,” said Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad
Chaudhary. He even sought clarification from Saudi Government through his
embassy, indicating that Pakistan was not taken into confidence and her consent
was taken for granted.
Somewhat similar reaction also erupted in Lebanon where
Prime Minister supported alliance but foreign ministry denied the involvement
of his county in any such effort. The ministry issued even a statement about
the alliance in an oblique reference to Imami group Hezbollah, saying ““what
happened tampers with Lebanon's distinctive position with regard to the
definition to fight terrorism and the definition adopted for terror organizations.
The ministry has by no means received any correspondence or phone call related
to the subject of the formation of this coalition”. Malaysia also downplayed
its inclusion in the alliance and issued a well-guarded statement.“There is no
military commitment, but it is more of an understanding that we are together in
the combat against militancy”.
The reaction
and controversy over the alliance is legitimate as there is lack of transparency
in the sudden initiative of Saudi Government. The coalition has not listed Syria,
Iraq and Iran. Syria has been battling IS and other
militants with the help of Iran and Russia. The US on the other hand has been supporting
groups striving to topple Bashar al-Assad regime. Iran has led military efforts
along with the Iraqi army and volunteers in anti- IS campaign in Iraq. The US
is already supporting ground operations against IS with air strikes and
mounting pressure on Turkey to be more offensive against terrorism. Then, why a
new alliance has been floated? The problem can be tackled simply by extending cooperation
to Iraq, Syria and Iran. After all Islamic State is a common enemy and Saudi defense
minister had described the coalition's operations being aimed at fighting terrorism in
these countries.
By
sidelining Iran, Iraq and Syria, Saudi Arabia has given the world a reason to suspect
its intentions. Iraq has already described the coalition as sectarian in
nature. What Saudi regime has done in Yemen endorses Iraqi view? The country
was selective in its fight against so called rebels. Its campaign targeted Imami
dominated regions and spared region occupied mostly by non-Imamis and open
supporters of Wahabism. In all probability, the new coalition will repeat Yemen
model against Hezbollah because it is heavily supported by Iran- a known rival
of Saudi Arabia in the region. It is a well-known fact that Hezbollah is bolstering
Syrian President Bashar Assad while Saudi Arabia has been accused of supporting
the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front in Syria. The entire world knows that Saudi
Arabia has been funding terrorist organizations for so many years. It used
Pakistan at the behest of US to produce fanatics in large number to expedite
the exit of erstwhile Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Since then, the world has been
witnessing repeated terrorist attacks and so called ‘Jihadis’ are not even
sparing their mentors now.
Saudi government is certainly
not serious in fighting terrorism. The coalition is just an attempt to show the
world that Riyadh does not back terrorism and willing to eradicate it. Saudi
Government has defended non –inclusion of Iran, saying “If Iran wishes to join this alliance then it should stop hurting Syria
and Yemen, and stop its actions that support terrorism in Lebanon and Iraq”. But
it is a lame excuse in view of known harboring of terrorist outfits by Riyadh
in several countries.The move would have surely been considered serious in
nature had there been inclusion of all the countries stricken with terrorism. The
welcome of coalition by US government only substantiates the claims made by
certain nations that alliance has been formed at the instance of US to check
the growing influence of Russia in the region. If it is so and coalition
launches any offensive, it would aggravate the sectarian violence in the region
instead of curbing terrorism.(Photo Google Image)
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