An important meeting of Minhaj-ul-Quran Ulama Council was held to discuss the prevailing situation in the Middle East with reference to Yemen conflict with Allama Farhat Hussain Shah in the chair. The meeting adopted a resolution on the occasion, which said that the Pakistan armed forces should not be sent in Yemen and the government should play the role of a mediator in the conflict instead of becoming a party. It demanded of the government to take urgent measures to bring back the stranded Pakistanis. It was further said that Operation Zarb-e-Azb should be continued till the elimination of last terrorist and even-handed action should be taken against ethnic, religious and political terrorism.

The meeting was attended by Allama Imdadullah Qadri, Allama Asif Akbar Mir, Allama Muhammad Hussain Azad, Allama Usman Sialvi, Allama Latif Madni, Allama Mumtaz Saddiqi, and other central and provincial leaders of Minhaj Ulama Council.

Addressing the meeting, Allama Syed Farhat Hussain Shah said that the Islamic world is passing through critical times at the moment. He said that the Muslim countries are being pitted against one another under a carefully calibrated conspiracy, adding that after shedding blood in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Afghanistan, now the theatre of Yemen has been selected. He said that Minhaj-ul-Quran Ulama Council is hugely concerned on situation in Yemen. He appealed to OIC, Muslim leaders, the UN and the chief of army staff to play the role of a mediator instead of becoming a party to the conflict. He said that dialogue is the best course available for resolution of the Yemen crisis.

Allama Farhat Hussain Shah asked the government to accelerate its diplomatic efforts to cool down the raging fire in Middle East. He said that Pakistan should try to find a negotiated settlement of the dispute and the government should send the parliamentary delegations to the Muslim countries to mobilize support. He said that the military action is not the solution, adding that the warring parties should be persuaded to come to the negotiating table to find a durable political resolution of the conflict. He warned that the continuing Yemen crisis has the potential of posing a serious threat to unity of Muslim world if urgent steps are not taken to defuse the situation. He said that protection of Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia is dearer than one’s life but added in the same breath that the whole political and religious leadership would have to play their role to stop the sectarian war in Yemen from entering Pakistan.

He said that the Pakistan military is an asset of the Muslim world. He said that the challenges on internal and external fronts do not present a conducive environment to send the military on a mission to Yemen. He said that the armed forces face a perpetual challenge on western and eastern borders and at the same time, it is busy battling and flushing out terrorists from Karachi to Waziristan. He said that any decision to become a party in the Yemen conflict can create serious security threats for Pakistan’s internal security.