Daily Times

Human misery has no limits, especially when the disaster is created by human follies for political dominance. In Saudi Arabia’s case, it is more a matter of the paranoia of Shia influence in Yemen where it believes that Iran is supporting and facilitating the Shia rebels. In geographical terms, it is strategically easy and a well thought out plan for Saudi Arabia to show its military might in Yemen. With negligible casualties on the side of the Saudi coalition forces, the infliction of war falls heavily on the people of Yemen who have no place to go and seek refuge. They are trapped in an inferno.
Sitting on Bab ul Mandab strait, Yemen’s waters present an important link between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which makes it essential for the Gulf States to use that route to export important oil shipments. With a Houthi take over, the Gulf States fear their transit will be severely affected, thus causing them huge economic losses in future. With the conflict between the Zaidi Shia rebels, or the Houthis, and the loyalists of the self-exiled Yemeni president, Hadi, non-state powers like al Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) are gaining power. Al Qaeda, which is against both Houthis and President Hadi, is also detested by IS. With a pot purée of fighting between all factions, which is quite worrisome for the west, there is confusion as to who is fighting whom. For the west, which is endorsing Saudi coalition forces, there is immense fear of Iranian alleged involvement in the region, a charge Iran denies.
Historically, the Houthis remained in power for 1,000 years until 1962. In 2004, Badr al-Din al-Houthi led the first uprising to gain power in Saada province. Since his death, Houthi’s followers have rebelled against the state’s forces to regain dominance as they feared a Sunni takeover of their culture and traditions. In January this year, the Houthis managed to hold the reigns of the country, dissolved the assembly and placed key political figures under house arrest. With Shias in a minority in the north, the Sunni majority in the south and their tribal leaders have strongly opposed the Houthi takeover, thus bringing inevitable chaos to the country. The Saudi-led forces, as appealed to by the toppled President Hadi, started taking action against the Houthis by initiating airstrikes in Yemen in March.
The continuous fighting in the Middle East’s poorest country has caused about 1,950 deaths and more than 42,000 wounded since March. With escalating inflation rates and lack of governance, about 12.9 million people are believed to now face food insecurity, with about 1.2 million children severely malnourished. In severe conditions like this where Yemen relies on 90 percent food imports, only a fraction is allowed into Yemen, thus causing serious food shortages. Around six million people are internally displaced and are living in refugee camps in pathetic conditions. According to UN figures, out of a population of 26.7 million, about 21 million have been deprived of basic amenities and humanitarian aid, and about 20 million have no access to safe drinking water thanks to the devastation caused by airstrikes. About 15 million people are now deprived of basic health facilities. With about half the population under the age of 18 years, UNICEF warned in August that at least eight children on an average are being killed or wounded on a daily basis. Amnesty International published a report in which it observed that Saudi-led forces have targeted civilian areas, which were far from military targets. It has also accused the Houthi rebels of committing war crimes by their indiscriminate targeting of both armed opponents and civilians. The escalation in human misery has grown three times since the onset of air strikes in March. This is a desperate cry for help that demands the attention of the international community. The UN has appealed for $ 1.6 billion from the international community but only a fraction has been achieved. Saudi Arabia committed to contribute $ 274 million but, so far, it has not lived up to its pledge.
To consider what Saudi Arabia and the gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries are doing in Yemen as ‘war’ is an over estimation. Morally, it is wrong to call it a war unless both sides are equal in their military prowess and are fighting a fair battle. Saudi Arabia asked for Pakistan’s assistance in its so called war with Yemen, which Pakistan rightly declined, much to the dismay of religious-political parties, which condemned Pakistan’s parliament for not doing enough to ‘protect’ the harmain al sharifain (holy houses in Mecca and Medina). Pakistan’s decline also caused a severe backlash from the GCC countries and warned of consequences. It was indeed one of the few instances where Pakistan took a fair stand, despite the fact that its military has its economic interests vested in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan also withstood the pressure from religious parties that are still adamant about helping Saudi Arabia in its war. Little do they realise that the people in Yemen, which is a Sunni majority nation (if that is something that matters to religious parties here) are being made to suffer just because some countries want to contain Shia political space, which they attribute to Iranian influence. Yemen has become a tragic hub of proxy wars fought by various power players at the cost of human lives. The unjust embargos on sea transits to Yemen and stopping the supply of food and medicines to the displaced people there should be equaled to war crimes. With the uninvited interference of Saudi Arabia in cultural and social dynamics in Pakistan through the opening of sectarian madrassas (seminaries) that are causing hate and violence against Shias, it is time Pakistan puts a stop to this and officially condemns the Saudi-led coalition forces for their documented war crimes in Yemen.

The writer is a freelance columnist and may be contacted at zeeba.hashmi@gmail.com