Sharif hopes diplomacy will help resolve Yemen issue

SLAMABAD: Pakistan is “not in a hurry” to decide whether to join the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in Yemen, the prime minister said Tuesday, before a round of shuttle diplomacy involving Iran and Turkey.
Nawaz Sharif told a special parliamentary debate on Yemen he thought the diplomatic efforts planned for the coming days would yield results.
Saudi Arabia has asked its longstanding ally Pakistan to contribute planes, ships and ground troops to the operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Sharif has said any Pakistani participation would need the backing of Parliament and convened a special session to debate the matter.
He told lawmakers on Tuesday that he did not want to “manipulate you to get a mandate.”
“Take your time, we are not in a hurry, we will take all your good points and I want the Parliament also to say something about demands of our friends,” said Sharif.
Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Friday and said afterward both countries wanted a peaceful resolution to the Yemen crisis.
More talks involving Turkey, Iran and Pakistan are planned in the coming days, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan due to meet the leadership in Tehran on Tuesday.