By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Yemen to Pakistan Mohammed MotaharAlashabi on Sunday termed Pakistan ‘a peace loving country’ and appreciated its ‘peace building’ efforts in Yemen.
“Pakistan is a peace loving country and is progressing at a good pace,” the envoy said in an exclusive interview with News and Current Affairs Channel of Radio Pakistan. MotaharAlashabi said his country and Pakistan were intertwined in shared bonds of religion, culture and values, enjoying ‘excellent’ brotherly relations.
He said Yemen and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in 1981 by establishing their respective embassies in Islamabad and Sana’a. Both countries shared views on important regional and international issues of concern, besides reciprocating each other at various world forums, he added.
He said around three hundred Yemeni students were studying at various institutions of higher learning in Pakistan as part of bilateral cooperation. Referring to trade potential between the two countries, MotaharAlashabi said the volume of commerce between Yemen and Pakistan needed much to be desired and could be enhanced in the years to come.
He said Pakistan exported food items like wheat, rice, cereals as well as leather and medical goods to Yemen. The ambassador said Pakistan was blessed with scenic and historic places with lot of potential in tourism.
Commenting on the conflict raging in Yemen for the last seven years, he said the ordinary people were paying the price of power struggle between warring groups. Criticizing the Houthi rebels, he said the militant group was perpetrating conflict against the legitimate government of Yemen and wanted to rule the country by force. He said the group had been part of various negotiations but resorted to violence to achieve their political objectives.
Mentioning diplomatic efforts at various levels to stop war in his country, the Ambassador said the government of Yemen had supported peace initiatives and participated in various international forums to defuse the situation. It also tried to start a national dialogue for peace.
MotaharAlashabi said their main concern was to stop the violence and killing as majority of Yemenis were tired of the war. The Yemeni ambassador said the rebels were not sparing even mosques, homes and businesses of ordinary people in this war. He said there were also incidents of enforced disappearances and other crimes against civilians committed by the rebels.
