ERDOGAN, SHARIF DISCUSS YEMEN

Islamabad, 24 Jumadil Akhir 1436/13 April 2015 (MINA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Saturday held a phone call with Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif, discussing unrest in Yemen, the Pakistani Prime Ministry’s press office said.

Over a 45-minute phone call, the two officials decided to intensify efforts in a move to peacefully resolve the worsening situation in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been pounding the positions of the Shiite Houthi group since March 25.

Pakistan had earlier declared it would not be a part of the Saudi-led mission against Houthis, Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.

The office also said the two leaders agreed that the Houthis did not have any legal right to topple a legitimate government in Yemen.

In case of any violation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, both Turkey and Pakistan will show a “strong” reaction, the press release added.

The Saudi-led coalition says the campaign is in response to appeals by embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi — now in Saudi Arabia — to “save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias.”

The Houthis, for their part, decry the offensive as unwarranted “Saudi-American aggression” against the Yemeni people.

Some Gulf States accuse Shiite Iran of supporting Yemen’s Houthi insurgency. (T/P011/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)