Pak. government has given approval

Former Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Friday left for Saudi Arabia to head a 41-country alliance of Muslim countries against terrorism. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told media that the government has issued the no objection certificate to the former general, who left Lahore for Riyadh.

Opposition parties have been criticising the government over the controversial appointment, claiming that the alliance is formed against Shia-majority Iran and will harm Pakistan’s relations with its neighbour. Iran has also objected to the alliance.

Pakistan’s Opposition parties have also demanded the government to unveil the main objectives of the alliance. But the Defence Minister said that it would unveil its charter next month. He also defended the appointment of General Sharif, saying Saudi Arabia is a brotherly Islamic country and the alliance is not against Iran. Earlier this week, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa had assured Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost that Pakistan-Iran ties would “remain unaffected by recent developments”.