RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said Thursday that five Muslim countries including Egypt and Pakistan want to participate in the Gulf-led military coalition against fighters of Ansarullah movement who have seized large swathes of Yemen.
Together with Jordan, Morocco and Sudan, they have expressed desire to participate in the operation against the fighters, which the kingdom dubbed Firmness Storm, Saudi SPA state news agency said.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf region allies, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday, Saudi officials said, to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden, where the US-supported Yemeni president had taken refuge.
Gulf broadcaster al-Arabiya TV reported that the kingdom was contributing as many as 150,000 troops and 100 warplanes to the operations and that allies Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan were ready to take part in a ground offensive in Yemen.
A top official in Pakistan said on Thursday Nawaz Sharif government, a close ally of Riyadh, was examining Saudi Arabia’s request to join the Gulf-led operation against Shia movement in Yemen.
Although Pakistani authorities have given a hint of cooperation, they told the Saudis that a final decision will be take after consulting the military, reported DawnNews.
Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz confirmed that top Saudi officials had contacted the Pakistani leadership requesting it to join the Yemen operation. A decision has not yet been taken, Aziz said.
He further said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has summoned a high-level meeting this evening to consult his close aides over the matter.
Aziz added that a decision on whether to comply with the Saudi request will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting.
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