Pakistan, Yemen enjoy deep, cordial relations based on mutual respect, goodwill
Ashraf Ansari/ Zubair Qureshi
AMBASSADOR Mohammad Motahar Alashabi of Yemen says the Palestinian people have rendered unprecedented sacrifices in pursuit of liberation from brutal Israeli occupation of their land.
They have shed enough blood for their just cause over the past 73 years.
The recent eleven days of ruthless Israeli bombing and shelling of the Gaza city marked a new hype of Israeli atrocities.
He was expressing his views on various issues in an exclusive interview with Pakistan Observer.
The ambassador pointed out that there is general consensus among the experts and political analysts that Israel had committed war crimes while carrying out air raids and shelling on Gaza city.
He said though the United Nations’ Human Rights body was poised to probe the allegation of war crimes committed by the Israeli military, the civilized countries on their own part supported the Palestinian people in their struggle for the creation of sovereign homeland of their own.
The ambassador pointed out that Israel had come into being through a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
“Nations of the world are obligated to rein in Israel by using the same UN General Assembly platform,” he observed.
After committing war crimes in recent raids on Gaza, Israel no longer remains in shrouds.
“Those responsible for committing war crimes in Gaza must face trial in the international tribunal at the Hague”, he added, citing the example of the Serb leader who was convicted in the international tribunal for committing war crimes in Bosnia, not very long ago.
About the current situation of Yemen, he said his country has long been suffering from internal stuff that has caused wide-spread destruction and human misery.
The ambassador said international initiatives for peace and reconciliation in Yemen have proven fruitless.
The latest initiative espoused by the United Nations has not been taken seriously by the militants.
There are efforts to secure a ceasefire that would pave the way for negotiations aimed at achieving peace and reconciliation among the warring sides.
The ambassador said Yemen needs peace and reconciliation on most urgent basis so that the state of Yemen could sustain it self as a sovereign political entity.
The world powers should make a collective effort to encourage the starting of the peace process in Yemen without taking sides.
When asked if the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) could play some role in promoting peace and reconciliation, the ambassador of Yemen said, it would depend on the political will of the organization.
“However there was no doubt that collective efforts of the Muslim world would have some good chance of success”, he added.
The Yemeni ambassador was asked about the corona virus Covid-19 situation in his country. He said people of Yemen are no less prone to the perils of the pandemic.
He lamented that there was lack of awareness among the people and more
so among the militants.
“There are insufficient facilities available in the country, leave alone vaccination”, he observed.
He said international organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) or United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) have been urged to help Yemen in coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
“The affluent countries and philanthropists should also come forward and help Yemen.
Turning to Yemen’s relations with Pakistan, the Ambassador said the two countries enjoyed very cordial and co-operative relations, “Pakistan shared Yemen’s Desire for peace and It fully supports the peace process in our country. Pakistan and Yemen “share views about major world and regional issues.”
He said Pakistan and Yemen cooperated in various areas of economy. He was thankful to the Pakistan government for awarding scholarships to Yemeni students.
The ambassador said Pakistan and Yemen needed to further expand and deepen bilateral cooperation. The two countries need to boost bilateral trade to mutual benefit.
