Pak mediating to end war in Yemen: Khan

ISLAMABAD:PRIME Minister Imran Khan announced Pakistan is mediating to end the war in Yemen soon after securing a bailout package from Saudi Arabia, prompting the opposition to demand that the terms and conditions of the aid be made public.

“We have got an amazing package from Saudi Arabia…which has taken off the burden,” Khan said in an address to the nation on national radio and television on Wednesday evening.

Khan, whose address came a day after his visit to Riyadh, also said Pakistan is acting as a mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia to end the fighting in Yemen.

“We are now trying our best to the play the role of a mediator in ending the (Yemen) war,” he said, adding Pakistan will try to play to its role in ending conflicts in the region and “bring all Muslim countries together”.

Expressing disappointment, the main opposition PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) asked the government to brief the nation about the terms and conditions on which Saudi Arabia agreed to provide the bailout package. PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb told the media: “What is the strategic value of the (bailout) package? What economic benefits and relief will the people of Pakistan get from this (Saudi) loan?”

She had earlier said Khan had not elaborated the terms on which Saudi Arabia had agreed to allow Pakistan to play the role of a mediator in the conflict in Yemen. She said this was a very serious and sensitive matter, but Khan provided no details.

PPP leader Raza Rabbani asked the government to take Parliament into confidence on the bailout and the construction of an oil refinery in or near Gwadar. IMTIAZ AHMAD