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Pakistan’s Sharif In Saudi Arabia To Discuss Yemen, Mend Ties


File photo of a meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
File photo of a meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has visited Saudi Arabia in an attempt to mend relations after Pakistani lawmakers rejected a Saudi request for military support against rebels in Yemen.

Sharif, accompanied by army chief General Raheel Sharif Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, met with King Salman and other top government officials on April 23.

Sources at the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh were quoted as saying Sharif gave the monarch "explanations" of the parliament's position.

Sharif also told Salman that Islamabad was pressing Iran to play a role in bringing Yemen's Shi’ite Huthi rebels to the negotiating table.

A Saudi-led coalition has conducted a monthlong campaign of air strikes in Yemen aimed at halting the advance of the Huthis and their allies.

The coalition announced this week that it was starting a new phase aiming to resume Yemen's political process and deliver aid, as air strikes continued.

Based on reporting by dpa and AFP
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