The Dawn said in an editorial that Pakistan's decision to participate in the Islamic Military Alliance or IMA and to allow former Army chief General Raheel Sharif to accept a Saudi offer to militarily head it "appear to have been taken in haste".
The alliance "may have some counter-militancy aims but it is also increasingly clear that it has been conceived by the kingdom as an anti-Iran alliance", the Dawn said.
The editorial said the Muslim world did need leadership and coordination in the fight against militancy, terrorism and extremism and theoretically the IMA could be a meaningful platform. But it should have involved the entire Islamic world.
"The IMA is plainly the anti-thesis of that, and, therefore, a potentially dangerous and destabilizing alliance.
"The Saudi leadership has explicitly stated that Iran is a threat to Saudi Arabia and countries allied with it.
"President Trump and his administration have explicitly embraced the Saudi-led IMA as a potential counter to the influence of Iran in the Middle East."
The Dawn said Pakistan cannot afford to be part of "an overtly sectarian military alliance and membership and leadership of the IMA is inimical to the historical and future strategic interests of this country.
"While a close relationship with Saudi Arabia is warranted, better relations with Iran are necessary too.
"The government, the military leadership and Gen Sharif must urgently reconsider their position."
(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Doraiah Chowdary Vundavally is a Software engineer at VTech . He is the news editor of SocialNews.XYZ and Freelance writer-contributes Telugu and English Columns on Films, Politics, and Gossips. He is the primary contributor for South Cinema Section of SocialNews.XYZ. His mission is to help to develop SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgement towards any.
This website uses cookies.