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November 27th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : A nominally Saudi Arabia led military coalition, commanded by a former Pakistan army chief, was officially launched Sunday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, where defense ministers were participating in the inaugural meeting.
Saudi Defense Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman opened the first meeting of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition or IMCTC.
In an official statement the new coalition explained the “pan-Islamic coalition” of 41 predominantly Sunni Muslim countries will coordinate and multiply their individual efforts in the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
The statement reads: “The meeting [in the Saudi capital] marks the official launch of the IMCTC and strengthens the cooperation and integration of member countries in the coalition.” The formation of the coalition has specifically been debated in Pakistan after former Pakistani military chief Raheel Sharif was appointed as IMCTC’s first commander.
Addressing Sunday’s meeting, Sharif explained the IMCTC will act as a platform to assist member countries in their counter terrorism operations through intelligence sharing and capacity building.
“A number of our member countries are under tremendous pressure while fighting well established terrorist organizations due to capacity shortages of their armed forces and law enforcement agencies,” the Pakistan general noted.
Supporters dubbed the IMCTC coalition “the Muslim NATO” while skeptics, including those in Pakistan, question the IMCTC’s objectives and see it as sectarian-based grouping against rivals in Shiite Iran, the increasingly Shiite dominated Iraq, Syria which receives military support from Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah.
Many independent – non-biased analysts perceive the IMCTC as one “socially-constructed” counter-terrorism alliance, that is bound to have peculiar blind spots for “some” terrorists and “freedom fighters” while it will try to target and position others, in cases where a designation as “terrorist” is politically expedient.
However, Saudi officials announced formation of the coalition in 2015, headquartered in Riyadh, with a mission to fight terrorism, particularly to counter the threat of Islamic State. Tehran has opposed the move from the outset and has been lobbying against it, believing it is aimed at increasing Saudi influence in the region.
Critics warn Pakistan’s participation could upset the country’s minority Shi’ite community and undermine bilateral relations with Iran, which shares a nearly 1,000-kilometer border with Pakistan.
The Pakistani Senate, the upper house of parliament, witnessed another heated debate on the issue last week when opposition members urged the government not to give any undertakings in Sunday’s meeting in Riyadh without taking the parliament into confidence.
Senator Farhatullah Babar, in his speech, noted the coalition encompasses four key areas, including ideology, communications, counter-terrorism financing and military. Those areas, particularly ideology, present potential pitfalls and challenges with possible consequences for Pakistan, local media quoted Babar as saying.
On Monday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and the head of the country’s main spy agency, ISI, among others, are scheduled to visit Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi leadership for important consultations, although it is not known exactly what the issues are.
In its announcement before Sunday’s meeting, the IMCTC quoted General Sharif as saying that terrorism is the biggest challenge confronting the Muslim world. The general retired in November 2016 and is credited with effectively countering terrorist groups operating in Pakistan during his three-year tenure as the chief of the powerful military.
But Shi’ite community leaders and independent critics in Pakistan have criticized the government, as well as Sharif, for accepting the assignment, fearing it would fuel domestic sectarian rivalries.
A/N – nsnbc 26.11.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/11/26/saudi-arabia-pakistan-axis-launches-new-anti-terrorism-coalition/
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