PAKISTAN URGES DIALOGUE, PEACEFUL MEANS TO RESOLVE YEMEN CONFLICT

ISLAMABAD (Pakistan), Dec 27 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Pakistan on Saturday called on all parties in Yemen to return to dialogue to resolve the country’s more than decade-long conflict, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry expressed its “support for peace and stability in Yemen” and said Islamabad is closely following recent developments there.

“Pakistan expresses its full support for the diplomatic efforts being undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure peace and stability in the Republic of Yemen. We also commend the efforts of the UAE in this regard,” the statement said.

Islamabad underscored the need to uphold Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity, and expressed hope that Yemeni stakeholders would avoid any unilateral steps that could further escalate the situation.

“We also call on all Yemeni parties to engage constructively and in good faith towards an inclusive, negotiated political solution based on the agreed parameters,” it added.

Pakistan also voiced hope that ongoing diplomatic efforts would lead to concrete steps towards lasting peace and help end the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Since Dec 3, Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces have taken control of parts of eastern Yemen’s Hadramout following clashes with the Hadramout Tribes Alliance and government-aligned First Military Region forces.

Four days later, STC forces expanded their control to another eastern province, Mahra, which had been under government authority.

A joint Saudi-Emirati military team was dispatched to Aden in southern Yemen to put arrangements in place with the STC to ensure its forces return to their previous positions outside the two provinces.

The takeover prompted mounting local and regional calls for STC forces to withdraw from Hadramout and Mahra, which together account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory, about 555,000 square kilometres.

The UN has warned that continued escalation could have serious consequences for Yemen, which is already facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU