Pakistan rejects reports of troop deployment in Qatar

'Nafees Zakaria' said that the foreign media reports were 'fabricated and baseless', adding that they were part of a 'malicious campaign' seeking to drive a wedge between Pakistan and its Persian Gulf allies.

Also, 'Shafqat Mahmood', a leading member of Pakistan Parliament, talking to IRNA yesterday, totally rejected media reports that Pakistan's parliament has followed Turkish parliament to approve deployment of troops to Qatar. Such a thing has never been discussed in Pakistan parliament', he reiterated.

TRT Urdu, a part of the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), earlier reported that a bill seeking the deployment of 20,000 troops to Qatar had been presented before by Pakistan National Assembly and was later approved by the lawmakers.

There are some reports that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is planning a visit to Qatar in the near future to play a role in resolving the current situation between Riyadh and Doha.

Some months ago Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a meeting with Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had formally asked Pakistan to help Qatar with the security of FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar in 2022.

This is a separate issue and should not be confused with the recent stories of some foreign media on sending troops to Qatar by Turkey and Pakistan.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives severed their ties with Qatar in an unprecedented rift between the most powerful members of the GCC.

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