Pakistan Joins the Fight in Yemen

The conflict in Yemen has taken an interesting turn. Saudi Arabia has officially requested Pakistan’s help to control the Iranian influence that is starting to infiltrate the country.

The Saudi-led coalition is facing a difficult mission in Yemen. The strategically important port of Aden remains loyal to the President Abd Rabboh Mansour Hadi. Hadi loyalists are being hemmed in by Iranian-backed al-Houthi forces. The rebel forces are expanding their territory, seizing the key Yemeni cities of Sanaa and Taiz. These forces are being augmented by regular military forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign March 26, sending over 100 combat aircraft in an effort to restore what Saudi Arabia sees as the legitimate government of Yemen.

The Saudi’s main goal, however, is to prevent the al-Houthi rebels from consolidating control over the core of Yemen, as well as Iranian Influence in the country.

Saudi Arabia’s request came last week and came as no big surprise. Pakistan is essentially a client state to Saudi Arabia and the Desert Kingdom has requested Pakistan deploy troops to the area in exchange for cash.

When Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif departed for Riyadh at the beginning of March, most thought that his visit would be routine. The purpose of the trip was to greet the newly crowned King of Saudi Arabia and reinforce existing diplomatic connections within the country. There were rumors in the Pakistani government that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman would ask for Sharif’s help, but the Prime Minister declared he would not commit troops and later confirmed it face-to-face with the Saudi monarch.

Sharif had already received $1.5 billion in aid from Saudi Arabia and was not exactly cash strapped. (That $1.5 billion was acquired without Pakistan having to make any sort of commitment to Saudi Arabia.)

With Sharif playing hard-to-get, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided to sweeten the pot.

The Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani soon made his way to Islamabad, with billions of dollars of trade deals and investments for Pakistan in his pockets. To show they were serious, as the emir was leaving, a tanker carrying Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG), the first such shipment, arrived in Pakistan, signaling the beginning of a deal estimated to be worth $22 billion. Mideast watchers knew something was up, but weren’t sure what it was until the Saudis announced the formation of a coalition and the initiation of airstrikes in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

It was then the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

It became apparent that the Pakistani Prime Minister was actually traveling to Riyadh to commit Pakistani forces to the effort for which the Saudis and Qataris had sweetened the deal. Pakistan’s Sharif went on record to commit to the effort stating that a number of countries, including Pakistan, have “expressed [their] desire to participate in the operation.”

Reports have already confirmed that Pakistan has provided naval support to the ongoing airstrikes in Yemen. Pakistan also has allegedly sent vessels to Yemen to assist Saudi naval elements in blockading Yemen from the sea while Saudi Arabia imposes a no-fly zone to isolate Yemen’s Saleh and the al-Houthis from receiving outside material support.

Before Pakistan does actually put boots on the ground in Yemen, there is still some bargaining to be done. Opposition parties in Pakistan demanded an All Parties Hurriyat Conference to discuss developments in Yemen, and the Prime Minister responded by calling for a joint session of Parliament that was held on April 6.

Such was the seriousness of the debate that Imran Khan’s political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, ended its months-long boycott of parliament. Pakistan will use the debate at home as a bargaining chip to extract more concessions and dollars from the Saudis.

Ultimately, financial constraints and the need to keep its Saudi patrons happy, will lead to Pakistan’s engagement in the conflict. How significant this contribution is remains to be seen, but one can expect naval resources, fighter jets, and some form of special operations contingent to join the coalition.

Getting embroiled in a clash between two regional powers — Saudi Arabia and Iran — split between cultural and sectarian lines, is bound to have dramatic near and long term challenges for Pakistan’s security.

Pakistan is already having trouble with Iran with the violence against Shiites in their own country, violence that Iran claims is being done with the tacit approval, if not active participation, of the Pakistani government.

Moving into Yemen in exchange for Saudi support will almost surely lead to a response from Iran, which could cause trouble of its own along their mutual Balochistan border, possibly forcing Pakistan to move more troops to its western border rather than sending them to Yemen.

The decision to join an anti-Iran alliance with Saudi Arabia will antagonize Iran, fuel sectarian conflict at home, and distract a military fighting a war on its western front. For all that, Pakistan will ultimately follow the Almighty Rupee in their case and sell its strategic interests to the highest bidder. They did this in 1969 when Pakistani pilots flew Saudi planes to repel Yemeni forces in 1969 and in the 1980s when Gen. Zia ul-Haq took billions of dollars in aid to help the Mujahedeen forces against the Soviets in the 1980s. Sharif’s government is simply opening a new chapter in this established tradition.

The developments in Yemen are developing yet another tinder box in the region, one that could have disastrous consequences. As the United States retreats from the region, Saudi Arabia is taking the lead in developing a regional alliance, one whose primary goal is to act as a counterbalance to Iran in the area.

The Iranians may not like these moves very much. It could very well end in a regional or even global conflict.

Jeremiah 49:28–33 teaches that peace will come between Israel and Saudi Arabia by means of destruction:

To Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed: This is what the LORD says: “Arise, go against Kedar! Plunder the people of the east! Take their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. Take their camels away from them. Cry out against them, ‘Terror is all around!’ Flee! Run away quickly! Go to a remote place to stay, residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD. “For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has formed a plan and devised a strategy against them. “Arise, go up against a nation at ease, living securely,” declares the LORD, “without gates or bars, living alone. Their camels will become booty, their many herds will become spoil. I’ll scatter to the winds those who shave the corners of their beards, and I’ll bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the LORD. “Hazor will become a dwelling place for jackals, a perpetual wasteland. No one will live there; no human being will reside in it.” (ISV)

The passage describes the total devastation of Saudi Arabia by war until the inhabitants are scattered and dispersed all over the world. As for the land itself, Jeremiah 49:33 states:

Hazor will become a dwelling place for jackals, a perpetual wasteland. No one will live there; no human being will reside in it. (ISV)

The land of Saudi Arabia will be a perpetual desolation throughout the Kingdom, and the residents will be dispersed everywhere.

The recent events in Yemen make some wonder if Saudi Arabia’s expansion of the conflict in that country could lead to an expansion of the conflict and force an overwhelming response not only from Iran, but also its own client state, Iraq, the home of Ancient Babylon.