Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called on Tuesday for Iran to get involved in a debate on security in Yemen as parliament resumed discussion on whether Pakistan should join a Saudi-led campaign against Iran-allied Yemeni forces. Sharif addressed parliament a day after the defence minister revealed Saudi wanted Pakistani warplanes, warships and soldiers. Not a single MP has spoken in favour of sending troops. Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's main Sunni Muslim power, has asked Sunni-majority Pakistan to join a Saudi-led military coalition that began conducting air strikes last month against largely Shi'ite Houthi forces in Yemen. Pakistani intervention would anger Shi'ite power Iran, which shares a long and porous border in a region roiling with its own separatist insurgency.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)