Pakistan [Photo/Xinhua]

Pakistan has announced that it will deploy an army contingent to Saudi Arabia. The troops will not take part in any conflict outside the borders of the country and their role will be limited to providing "training" to Saudi troops, according to a policy statement announced in parliament by Pakistan's Defense Minister Khurram Dastigir.   

The opposition parties and defense experts in Pakistan are not yet buying the argument and are demanding the government provide full details of the agreement regarding the deployment in Saudi Arabia, which is faced with increasing threats from the Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

The main concern is that Pakistani soldiers might be asked to fight the Yemeni rebels in the event of a border attack or direct threat to the country. In such a scenario, Pakistan will be unwillingly sucked into the intricate regional rivalries.

The Kingdom had pressed Pakistan for soldiers when it launched the misadventure in Yemen back in 2015. But the government, with the support of opposition parties, stubbornly refused and the parliament also passed a resolution in 2015 to stop the government from becoming a party in the conflict. 

The two sides have robust defense cooperation spanning decades and Pakistan has been helping the Saudi forces through training and joint exercises. It is not for the first time that troops are being sent to Saudi Arabia. An armored brigade was deployed in the Kingdom after the two sides signed an agreement in 1982.

Pakistan also dispatched troops during the First Gulf War but they remained neutral in the conflict. Earlier, Pakistani commandoes played a crucial role in ending the seizure of Islam's holiest site, the Grand Mosque, in Makkah by a group of rebels in 1979.

So, under the normal circumstances, the new deployment would not have made  the front pages of newspapers. The issue has become sensitive due to the peculiar political and security situation of Saudi Arabia.  

It has been facing external and internal threats, respectively against the kingdom and the king. The threat from the outside due to the Houthi rebels, Islamic extremists like al-Qaeda and ISIS and regional rivals like Iran and Qatar. 

The kingdom has an army, military hardware and international support through the United States against the external threats. It may not need Pakistani soldiers in case of attack from outside. But the real threat is from inside and not just from extremists but from the political rivals of the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The Prince faces two types of dangers from within: First, from the extended House of Saud, as he has made many enemies ever since he was promoted to eclipse his countless cousins to become the next in the line of succession. 

He will be the first from the grandsons of the founder of the modern Kingdom, late King Abdulaziz, also known as Ibne Saud. The passing of baton from sons to grandsons of Ibne Saud had always been a thorny issue. 

As if it was not enough, Prince Salman has embarked on an ambitious plan to modernize the country both economically and socially. He has recently announced several measures including allowing women to drive and watch sports events. He also imprisoned some of the powerful kinsmen as part of a crackdown against sleaze.

The drive for domestic reforms pits him against rivals in the extended family and the conservative religious elements who enjoy a high degree of respect and influence. The deadly combination of religion and politics demands greater security through trustworthy allies. 

That is why the deployment of Pakistani troops makes sense. Pakistan's powerful security establishment and some of the influential politicians and even religious groups have good ties with the Saudi ruling family. It is in the national interests of Pakistan that the current political dispensation continues. 

The number of Pakistani troops is small, with  about 1,000 troops being sent to join the 1,600 already present. Therefore, Defense Minister Dastigir is right that the troops would not be deployed outside Saudi Arabia, as they will not make a big difference in case of a war.

But they can play an important role by advising and training the Saudi elite forces to prepare them against internal foes. Pakistan also openly says that it is committed to protect the Muslim holy places in Saudi Arabia. Since the King is the "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," so his security is also of paramount importance. 

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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