Insanity in Yemen

Sir: The Prime Minister (PM) and his ministers, without thinking and consulting saner voices, have announced almost blind support to Saudi Arabia against Yemen. PM Nawaz Sharif is acting like an emperor to pay back the Saudis for personal favours, giving no second thought to the fact that this announcement will contribute to the insecurity and instability of the very state of Pakistan. Saudi support has always had a price tag. Saudi Arabia prodded Pakistan into the Afghan quagmire in the 1980s and thousands of religious schools and mosques constructed and run on alleged Saudi support are fanning sectarian fires, which have now flared up into an inferno engulfing Pakistan.
After pressure from the PPP and PTI and hue and cry from some media entities, the government has realised its madness. Now it says it has not pledged any military support but even if military support is not extended, irrecoverable damage has already been done. Iran is already gravely offended by the longstanding Shia persecution in Pakistan and this support for Saudi Arabia will be the last straw. The people of Yemen and other small countries will always be distrustful of us.
GULSHER PANHWER
Johi