Pakistan, Egypt reaffirm support for dialogue, diplomacy to resolve regional issues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Egypt have reaffirmed their support for dialogue and diplomacy as the preferred means to resolve regional issues, the Pakistani foreign office said on Sunday, amid tensions over Yemen.

The development comes days after Saudi Arabia-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said it conducted a “limited” airstrike targeting two shipments of smuggled weapons and other military hardware coming from the Emirati port of Fujairah into Mukalla in southern Yemen.

Coalition Forces spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the weapons and combat vehicles were meant to support the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Yemen's Hadramaut and Al-Mahra "with the aim of fueling the conflict." The UAE has since announced withdrawal of its remaining troops from Yemen, rejecting any actions that could threaten the Kingdom or undermine regional stability.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty over the phone and discussed the current regional situation with him, according to a Pakistani foreign office statement.