‘Members’ surprised by Saudi anti-terror coalition plan
Anumber of countries have expressed surprise that they were included by Saudi Arabia in a new military alliance to fight terrorism.
Officials in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia all said they had not formally agreed to join the alliance.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said 34 mainly Muslim nations would be part of the counterterrorism grouping.
Prince Mohammed said it would focus on efforts to fight terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.
He indicated there were still “procedures” for these countries to go through before joining, “but out of keenness to achieve this coalition as soon as possible, [the alliance of] 34 countries has been announced”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry was quoted in the Dawn newspaper as saying he was surprised by the announcement and had asked the Pakistani ambassador in Riyadh for clarification.
The country’s foreign office said in a statement later on Wednesday that it was “awaiting further details to decide the extent of its participation in different activities of the alliance” before making a decision on whether to join.
In Indonesia, the foreign ministry said it too had not yet decided whether to join. “The government is still observing and waiting to see the modalities of the military coalition formed by Saudi Arabia,” foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told The Jakarta Post.