Voice of America quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Nabeel Khoury on how Pakistan’s potential involvement would impact the conflict in Yemen:
Nabeel Khoury, an analyst at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center does not think Pakistani involvement would be destabilizing. But he says adding Pakistan would be “overkill.”
“All [of] these countries that Saudi Arabia is adding have a more sophisticated military, specifically the Arab countries of Morocco, Jordan and Egypt,” said Khouri.
He said there are other motives behind Saudi Arabia’s decision to reach out to Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia has extended financial assistance to Pakistan to help with its troubled economy. Also, the Saudi royal family provided shelter to Pakistani President Nawaz Sharif after he was ousted in a 1999 military coup.
“Riyadh likes to keep Pakistan on tap,” said Khoury. “They have a special relationship,” he said.