<p> Pakistan found itself in the cross hairs of Middle East politics after Saudi Arabia included it in a 34-nation military coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism without getting Islamabad's consent, media reports said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In a statement yesterday, the Saudi government surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a military coalition of 34 nations to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.<br /><br />Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said he was surprised to read the news that Saudi Arabia had named Pakistan as part of the alliance, the Dawn reported.<br /><br />Chaudhry said he had asked the country's ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter.<br /><br />Another senior official also confirmed that Pakistan was not consulted before inclusion in the alliance.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has named Pakistan as part of its military alliances without Islamabad’s knowledge and consent.<br /><br />The Saudis earlier named Pakistan as part of a coalition that carried out operations in Yemen and a Pakistani flag was displayed at the alliance's media centre.<br />Pakistan later declined to join the Yemen war.<br /><br />It is Pakistani government's policy that it will not deploy its troops outside the country’s borders except for UN peacekeeping missions.<br /><br />In the past Pakistan has twice rejected US calls for joining alliances against the militant Islamic State (IS) group on the same pretext.<br /><br />"We are not looking for any involvement outside our region," army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa had said last month while replying to a question about the possibility of Pakistan becoming part of a US-led coalition against IS.</p>
<p> Pakistan found itself in the cross hairs of Middle East politics after Saudi Arabia included it in a 34-nation military coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism without getting Islamabad's consent, media reports said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In a statement yesterday, the Saudi government surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a military coalition of 34 nations to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.<br /><br />Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said he was surprised to read the news that Saudi Arabia had named Pakistan as part of the alliance, the Dawn reported.<br /><br />Chaudhry said he had asked the country's ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter.<br /><br />Another senior official also confirmed that Pakistan was not consulted before inclusion in the alliance.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has named Pakistan as part of its military alliances without Islamabad’s knowledge and consent.<br /><br />The Saudis earlier named Pakistan as part of a coalition that carried out operations in Yemen and a Pakistani flag was displayed at the alliance's media centre.<br />Pakistan later declined to join the Yemen war.<br /><br />It is Pakistani government's policy that it will not deploy its troops outside the country’s borders except for UN peacekeeping missions.<br /><br />In the past Pakistan has twice rejected US calls for joining alliances against the militant Islamic State (IS) group on the same pretext.<br /><br />"We are not looking for any involvement outside our region," army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa had said last month while replying to a question about the possibility of Pakistan becoming part of a US-led coalition against IS.</p>