Pakistan to quit Saudi-led military coalition if it turns sectarian

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says Islamabad will quit a controversial Saudi-led military coalition if it becomes sectarian.

“Pakistan does not wish to be a part of any sectarian alliance,” the minister told lawmakers in the senate, the upper house of the parliament.

“Our efforts have been and will be geared towards eradicating militancy.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Pakistani minister said Islamabad had not issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the former army chief, General Raheel Sharif, to assume the command of the coalition.

The remarks come after some sources earlier said the Pakistani government had cleared the former army chief to take up the job as the head of the coalition following a formal request from Saudi Arabia.

The news of the controversial appointment sparked controversy in the country and was strongly denounced by some politicians, retired army officers and intellectuals, as well as Shia and moderate Sunni Muslim leaders.

SS