Pakistan says Saudi asked for warplanes, warships and soldiers
ISLAMABAD - Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan for military aircraft, warships and soldiers, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday, at the start of a parliamentary debate on whether Pakistan should get involved in a Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's main Sunni Muslim power, has asked Sunni-majority Pakistan to join a Saudi-led military coalition that began conducting air strikes last month against largely Shi'ite Houthi forces in Yemen.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has hedged his bets. He has repeatedly said he will defend any threat to Saudi Arabia's "territorial integrity" without defining what threat, or what action.
"Saudi Arabia has asked for combat planes, warships and soldiers," Asif said, without specifying where Saudi wanted them deployed.
