Pakistan to send troops to Saudi Arabia on training mission

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s military says it is sending troops to assist Saudi Arabia on a training mission but that they will not be deployed in conflict zones outside the kingdom.

The announcement surprised lawmakers who on Friday sought clarification further clarification from the government.

In a statement late Thursday, the military did not say how many troops are being sent to the Gulf kingdom.

The move comes three years after Pakistan rejected a Saudi request to send troops there as part of a Saudi-led coalition, of mostly Gulf states, fighting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis.

Retired Pakistani army general Raheel Sharif heads the Saudi-led alliance.