Pak examining Saudi request for military help

Pakistan today said it was examining a request by Saudi Arabia to join a Gulf-coalition against advancing Shia Houthi militias in Yemen and defend its besieged president who is hiding in the southern port of Aden.
The oil-rich Sunni kingdom has already begun air-strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, the region's most impoverished country, now on the brink of civil war, with potential to become a battleground for Riyadh-Tehran rivalry. Iran has denounced the air-strikes.
Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that Saudi Arabia have asked for support in the military campaign.
"I can confirm that we have been contacted by Saudi Arabia

in this regard (help against rebels in Yemen) and the matter is being examined," she said.
She said Pakistani community in Yemen has been alerted in view of the current situation, but no decision has been taken to shut down the embassy.

"The Embassy has also been alerted. Since, they are on the
ground, they have to give their assessment of the situation. If the assessment is that situation has reached a stage where they need to be evacuated then they will be evacuated," she said.
According to sources, the Saudi monarch Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for military help during his visit to the oil-rich kingdom, earlier this month.

Sharif had promised to examine the request, which could mean Pakistan's entry into a regional conflict in the Gulf.
"Pakistan is weighing the options and has also been in contact with its permanent mission to UN to evaluate the international repercussions of sending army and weapons," sources said.
Earlier today, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen last night along with its Gulf allies.
Saudi Arabia's SPA state news agency later said that five Muslim countries including Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan want to participate in the Gulf-led military coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen.