ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly condemned the terror attack at Aden airport in Yemen targeting the cabinet members of the newly formed government in the country.
In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri extended Pakistan’s sincere condolences on the loss of precious lives and wish a speedy recovery for the injured.
“We believe this attack was not just condemnable as an act of senseless violence and terrorism, it was also reprehensible as an attempt to undermine the recent efforts by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its positive results, that aimed at fostering enhanced peace and security in Yemen,” said the statements.
The spokesperson said Pakistan urges the international community to ensure respect for the territorial integrity of Yemen and to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and security in the country.
At least 22 people were killed and 50 were wounded after a large explosion struck the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed cabinet landed there. No one on the government plane was hurt.
Hours after the attack, a second explosion was heard around Aden’s Maasheq presidential palace where the cabinet members including Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, as well as the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, had been taken to safely.
Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani blamed the attack on the Houthi rebels, adding that all the members of the government were safe.
“We assure our great people that members of the government are fine, and we assure you that the cowardly terrorist attack by the Iran-supported Huthi militia will not deter us from carrying out our patriotic duty,” he said on Twitter.
Yemen’s government was sworn in on December 18 by President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, as part of a power-sharing deal brokered by Saudi Arabia in 2019.
Headed by Prime Minister Abdulmalik, the new government represents Yemen’s northern and southern areas with equal numbers of members for each region.
The new government was formed under the auspices of Riyadh, which leads a military coalition against the Houthis, who took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.
