Former Pak army chief to quit Saudi-led Islamic alliance: Report

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 30 (ANI): Upset with the U.S. intervention in the Saudi-led military alliance of Islamic nations, Pakistan's former army chief General (Retd) Raheel Sharif is mulling over leaving the Islamic Military Alliance's command, according to a news report. Daily Pakistan reported that a private TV news channel, Neo TV, claimed that due to American intervention General Sharif feels his role is being limited by the Saudi government. Therefore, he is considering leaving the command of the military alliance. The former army chief took over the role to head the 41-nation military alliance last month. The 41-nation armed coalition was initially proposed as a platform for security cooperation among Muslim countries and included provisions for training, equipment and troops, and the involvement of religious scholars for devising a counter-terrorism narrative. Reports of General Sharif thinking of quitting the alliance come after the debate over Saudi not providing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the time to deliver a speech at the recent U.S.-Arab Islamic summit on counter-terrorism in Riyadh. Many Pakistani media outlets called it 'national humiliation,' saying no opportunity was given to Pakistan to present its case within the context of the country being one of the biggest victims of terrorism. What angered Islamabad further was the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump, in his speech at the event, said, "India was one of the countries which had suffered due to terrorism," while ignoring Pakistan. However, later, clearing the air on the controversy, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that the Prime Minister could not deliver the speech due to shortage of time. (ANI)