A deeply divided Iraq

In the dangerous and complex situation we have now around Iran, one of the key losers is Iraq and its population. The country is deeply divided along sectarian and ethnic lines, has no economy and possesses very little capacity to respond to the multiple security threats it faces. These are all the necessary ingredients for an explosive national crisis. And tonight, the country is a step closer to such crisis. The Shia members of the national parliament voted a resolution recommending that all foreign armies be asked to leave Iraq. The Sunni and Kurd sides of parliament boycotted the vote. In fact, they feel excluded from the current political dispensation. That creates the right ground for new conflicts.

Warning Saudi Arabia

One should be very shocked by the mass executions carried out yesterday by the Saudi Arabian authorities. In the eyes of today´s modern world, these killings have every hallmark of excessive punishment. They belong to another epoch and to a primitive way of dealing with human beings. And in the case of the well-known Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the decision to carry the death sentence on him seems to be based on sectarian grounds as well as on a radical, unacceptable approach to dissent. It is furthermore an extremely aggravating factor to the existing dramatic divisions that the Middle East region is already experiencing.

Those in the West that have publicly expressed their deepest concerns regarding the executions did the noble thing. The regime in Riyadh should receive from each one of its Western allies a strong message of warning and condemnation. That´s the best way to help them to understand that it is time to move away from an outdated and unacceptable way of conducting justice and implementing human rights. 

Pakistan should not get involved in the Yemen conflict

Saudi Arabia has requested Pakistan to be part of the coalition that has been formed to fight the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

There is a very close diplomatic relationship between Riyadh and Islamabad. The Pakistani leadership, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif above all, owe a big chunk of their political survival to the support they received from the Saudis. Furthermore, Pakistan has a significant military capacity that could contribute to the war against the rebels.

But any direct involvement of Pakistan in Yemen would have deep consequences, both domestically and in the region.

Internally, it would further alienate the Shia population of Pakistan, a minority segment of the population – they represent about 15% of the country´s population – and create more friction and violence between rival sects and ethnic groups. We cannot forget that some ethnic groups are linked to similar groups in Iran, a country that is somehow close to the Houthis in Yemen.

Externally, Pakistan´s participation would mean an additional escalation of a conflict that is already gaining a regional dimension. By this time the situation is already very delicate. Any expansion of the Yemen´s conflict should be seen with deep concern.