ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office said on Tuesday Islamabad “strongly” condemned recent missile and drone strikes by Houthi militants on Saudi Arabia, and called for peace in Yemen in line with UN Security Council resolutions.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the recent missile and drone strikes by Houthis on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is a violation of the Kingdom's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the foreign office said. “We commend how Saudi Arabia's successful defensive actions prevented loss of many innocent civilian lives. Pakistan expresses full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supports the Kingdom's right to defend itself against aggression.”
The statement said Pakistan hoped all parties to the conflict in Yemen would engage in a “meaningful and peaceful dialogue” to end hostilities in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
Pakistan also expressed concern at the recent escalation of violence in Yemen, saying the city of Marib was threatened by Houthi militias.
“We urge all parties to the conflict in Yemen, in particular the Houthis, to cease military actions, engage in a serious dialogue to end the conflict on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and respond positively to the proposals made by Martin Griffith, the United Nation's Special Envoy to Yemen,” the statement said.
Pakistan condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, calls for UN-brokered peace in Yemen
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Pakistan condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, calls for UN-brokered peace in Yemen
- Says recent missile and drone strikes by Houthis in “violation of Kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”
- Commend Saudi Arabia's successful defensive actions which prevented loss of innocent lives, foreign office says
Rating firm S&P says it won’t rush Iran war downgrades, sees risks for countries like Pakistan
- Agency says it is monitoring indebted energy importers as higher oil prices strain finances
- Gulf economies seen better placed to weather shock, though Bahrain flagged as vulnerable
LONDON: S&P Global said it would not make any knee-jerk sovereign rating cuts following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but warned on Thursday that soaring oil and gas prices were putting a number of already cash-strapped countries at risk.
The firm’s top analysts said in a webinar that the conflict, which has involved US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, was now moving from a low- to moderate-risk scenario.
Most Gulf countries had enough fiscal buffers, however, to weather the crisis for a while, with more lowly rated Bahrain the only clear exception.
Qatar’s banking sector could also struggle if there were significant deposit outflows in reaction to the conflict, although there was no evidence of such strains at the moment, they said.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and just say things are bad,” S&P’s head global sovereign analyst, Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, said.
The longer the crisis was prolonged, though, “the more difficult it is going to be,” he added.
Sifon-Arevalo said Asia was the second-most exposed region, due to many of its countries being significant Gulf oil and gas importers.
India, Thailand and Indonesia have relatively lower reserves of oil, while the region also had already heavily indebted countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka whose finances would be further hurt by rising energy prices.
“We are closely monitoring these (countries) to see how the credit stories evolve,” Sifon-Arevalo said.
