DefenseNews quotes South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Claude Rakisits on how Pakistan will contribute to the Saudi coalition in Yemen:
Claude Rakisits, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, says Pakistan was compelled to participate due to a history of largesse provided by the Saudis.
Pakistan’s prime minister “knows on which side his bread is buttered. Given what Saudi Arabia has done for Pakistan over the years in ensuring it doesn’t drown financially, I would say that Pakistan has very little choice about whether to provide military assistance to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Although Islamabad wants to improve its relationship with neighboring Tehran, which is backing the Houthis, Pakistan would “not be able to sit on the fence, and will need to come to Saudi Arabia’s assistance, even if only symbolically,” he said.
Adding, “Saudi Arabia would never forgive Pakistan if it did not positively respond to the request for military assistance.”
What this will actually involve, though, is uncertain, “given the ongoing military operation in the tribal areas. The Pakistan Army will nevertheless be constrained by what it can contribute on the ground.”