By
Sattar Rind
It’s definitely interesting and vis-à-vis a dangerous development for the Muslim world that Saudi Arabia has announced 34 Muslim countries in the National Islamic Alliance against Terrorism, but Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, despite being important Muslim countries, are not included in this Islamic military alliance.
It shows that in an alliance, only those countries are included who are under the influence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) or who are closely allied to the KSA against Shiite Muslims, especially Iran.
This announcement was made by the defense minister and deputy crown prince of the KSA in which he declared that Riyadh – the capital city of KSA – as its headquarters. The primary objective of the alliance is against terrorism.
Following his announcement the State run press agency issued a statement that 34 countries will be its members, however Pakistan and Indonesia in particular mentioned in a statement that they are also part of this alliance that would be called an Islamic Military Alliance (IMA).
This was announced by the deputy crown prince and defense minister of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman, who is also the son of the existing king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Later, the state run news agency also confirmed it again through a statement.
This rare announcement came before the world in the name of 30 year old Deputy Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman first at a news conference, in which details were scarce, but later a statement clearly mentioned that Saudi Arabia would be leading this alliance. In the issued statement it could be read that terrorism is a “serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security,” and that “acts of corruption and terrorism cannot be justified in any way.”
It read further: ‘Today there are a number of countries that suffer from terrorism, for example Daesh [Islamic State] in Syria and Iraq; terrorism in Sinai, terrorism in Yemen, terrorism in Libya, terrorism in Mali, terrorism in Nigeria, terrorism in Pakistan, terrorism in Afghanistan and this requires a very strong effort to fight. Without a doubt, there will be coordination in these efforts” the deputy crown prince was quoted as saying.
The alliance includes Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, who are conducting airstrikes in Syria as part of a US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Others from the Middle East include Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya and Egypt. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia are also part of the effort, as are a number of African countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Mali and Nigeria.
The statement claimed that all of these countries “expressed their support,” including Indonesia, the home of the world’s largest Muslim population.
Interestingly after the two day meeting of the GCC in the KSA such an announcement emerged a few days later. Though Pakistan or another country were not disowning this claim of the KSA however, Pakistan dramatically remained silent that they did not know about it. However social media started a campaign against it that Pakistan should not be part of and that it had to have very peaceful relations with its neighboring country Iran. But after two days silence, Pakistan accepted that they are part of this IMA.
This is and will always be a deep desire of the Pakistani people that Pakistan should not be a puppet of Saudi Arabia just because they are rich and that we must also think we need very cordial relations with Iran. We have already paid a very huge price in the Afghanistan war and have lost almost 80 thousand lives since this proxy war began.
Who knows that not being a frontline state against the Russian invention in Afghanistan was due to Saudi Arabia and ultimately we were brought for no reason into a sectarian war in Pakistan that was financially supported by the KSA. Yet it is a continuous phenomena.
It was General Zia, who had given access to Saudi Arabia to influence and create sectarian culture in a peaceful and religiously hormonal country Pakistan, as he was himself from the same school of thought as the KSA rulers. It is an amazing result of a survey that 92% of the Saudi people are against the militancy culture and Daesh.
While it is being claimed that the Daesh were created by the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia through his half nephew and then spy chief of the Saudi General Intelligent Chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, he is a very close friend to the Bush family of the United States.
The Iranian newspapers used to refer to him as the ‘Prince of Terrorism’. It is even claimed that he threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with a ‘carrot and stick’ as he offered Putin a $15 billion dollars trade package of arms deals and a promise to refrain from competing with Russia in the European gas market, otherwise Saudi Arabia will not give a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics of 2014 as they could not provide a guarantee to Chechen groups that had been threatening the security of the games, according to a Wall Street journal report.
It is also being reported that Putin responded that he would eliminate the KSA from the earth if they did against anything against Russia.
Why then is Pakistan willing to be part of such an international group, IMA. This is the worrying point for any conscious and liberal people of Pakistan. It is a great desire of the people that we should care for both countries equally – Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Besides, with Iran being our neighboring country, we must pay good relations towards it and everyone knows that the KSA, since becoming rich after discovering oil in 1938, has lost its sensibility in terms of being a responsible country.
It is a very sorry state that we have never observed a single day that Pakistan has not supported the KSA, wrong or right, from the first day of Pakistan’s independence. Pakistan is following the KSA as if it is performing a religious duty to obey the KSA.
The Saudi ruling family are Wahhabi, whereas in Pakistan, barely a few families may be of the same school of thought, the majority of Pakistan’s population being from the Hanafi school of thought. Therefore the relationship between the two countries would only be casual as Pakistan has the same with other Muslim countries.
Again it is being claimed that the IMA is being organised following US pressure to fight indirectly against the Russian intervention in Syria and it is going to be a repeat of history in Afghanistan. That is nothing but a repeat of the worst days of socially destruction that may lead us to further damage which may not be repairable.
We know the GCC have been locked in nine months of warfare with Iran-allied rebels in neighboring Yemen, launching hundreds of air strikes there. They will definitely enhance this war as well as against the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad’s government.
Nevertheless the United States have stated that firepower would be better used against ISIS. We may not forget the tribal political system of Arabs and their long antagonism with Iran; it is obvious and could easily be perceived that the IMA would not be going against ISIS/Daesh. It will be practical to observe that this open drama will only be used against Shiite countries and Russia wherever they require to use it.
This will automatically enhance sectarian politics in every Muslim country.
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