Pak-Saudi Arab military agreement was for a different purpose, says Ishaq Dar

WASHINGTON- Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Saudi Arabia had signed a military protocol in 1982, but this agreement was for a different purpose and it is not in national interests to talk about it. Pakis­tan’s position on the Yemen conflict will not lead to the expulsion of Pakistani workers from the Middle East, he said. The minister told a news briefing in Washington that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed a military protocol in 1982, which entitles the kingdom to seek Pakistani troops. “But this agreement was for a different purpose and it is not in national interests to talk about it,” he said. “God forbid, we do not want to create the impression that we are not with Saudi Arabia. I am a sinner but I am willing to die defending the two holy mosques.” Mr Dar, who was addressing the Pakistani media at the end of a three-day visit to Washington, was drawn into the Yemen dispute while vowing to take the country’s foreign exchange reserves to a record $18.5 billion by the end of this fiscal year. A journalist reminded him that the largest contributor to foreign exchange reserves were overseas Pakistanis who sent a record $13.3 billion in last nine months. But some Arab countries were threatening to expel those workers because of Pakistan’s refusal to send troops to Saudi Arabia. “I am almost sure that we will not face this situation,” said Mr Dar. “The parliamentary resolution on Yemen was misunderstood in some Arab countries but we have clarified our position.” He said Pakistan had a particularly close relationship with Saudi Arabia and wanted to retain those ties. The finance minister said Pakistan and Turkey were playing a reconciliatory role and wanted to bring the two groups to the negotiating table.