India Need To Play Bigger Role In Ongoing 'Yemen Conflict'

Though guns have stop ped booming and bom bardment of Houthi strongholds suspended for now; the crisis in Yemen is becoming more ominous. The reasons are many.

Pakistan has decided not to send its troops to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fight against Houthi rebels in Yemen. At the same time it has also said that it would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Saudi brothers' and not step back from its commitment to safeguard the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

Pakistan Prime Minister, Miyan Nawaz Sharif, sent his brother and chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif as his special envoy to the Kingdom to smoothen the frayed tempers in the House of Saud following the resolution passed by the Parliament that Pakistan should remain neutral in the war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia and not send any troops to Saudi Arabia.

But the resolution of the Pakistan Parliament was not taken lightly either by Saudi Arabia or its Gulf allies. Though Saudi Arabia has not made any critical statement against Pakistan publicly , the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said, “The Arabian Gulf is in a dangerous confrontation, its strategic security is on the edge, and the moment of truth distinguishes between the real ally and the ally of media and statements.“ He also warned that Pakistan may have to pay a heavy price for its `vague' stand.

Turkey is also weighing its options to help Saudi Arabia in conflict with Yemen. The Turkish stand has dealt a serious blow to its relations with Iran, which had remained reasonably good all these years. The conflict in Yemen which was bombarded by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Gulf and others in late March has the potential of involving more countries. For instance, Iran might increase its involvement to protect Houthi rebels who are Shia Muslims.

The countries outside the West Asia such as Turkey and Pakistan are wary of the sectarian nature of wars in Syria and now in Yemen. Both Turkey and Pakistan are predominantly Sunni populated states like the GCC countries. It is being felt for a long time that the danger of the Sunni-Shia conflict might get out of control.This feeling acquired greater proportions with the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011.

But the situation in Yemen is more important for India as the latter has maintained good relations with that country .Besides importing a major chunk of its fuel from the region, India also has 3 million people working there. The war could affect the entire region.

Yemen is also important for India because of the presence of Al-Qaida there. If the war in Yemen, which is essentially against the government that has already lost its control over the Capital city Sana'a, goes on for some more time, then the possibility of Pakistan, Turkey and Iran getting more involved there increases.

The position of US is not clear. Though it wants to decimate Al-Qaeda in Yemen and had supported the Houthis earlier, it now appears to be in two minds. Its negotiations with Iran to reach an understanding over the use of nuclear power for civilian purposes, have irked Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries who perceive Iran as a threat to their governments in the region.

The foremost critic of the USIran dialogue is, of course, Israel that feels that talks could end up paving the way for Tehran to become a nuclear power challenging the hegemony of Tel Aviv. The US too has been of the same view until recently. But its continuous dialogue with Iran appears to be changing the equilibrium in the region.

The war in Yemen, as has been said earlier, is essentially local in nature. It is not exactly a Sunni versus Shia war. It has multiple dimensions. Hence, Yemenis should be allowed to settle their problems of governance and tribal rivalries peacefully with the help of the UN. The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula form part of the extended neighbourhood of India. Any turmoil there would affect India in more ways than one; specifically, its oil imports and the presence of large workforce. 

Therefore, India cannot restrict its role to evacuating people from the war-affected areas alone. It has to have a broader perspective of the region including expansion of conflicts. That scenario has begun to look real in the present context.