AKIPRESS.COM - After five days of debate over Yemen, lawmakers in Pakistan on Friday adopted a draft resolution calling on the government to stay out of the fighting, the media reports say.

"[The Parliament of Pakistan] desires that Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis," the resolution said. Lawmakers from all parties supported the draft, indicating it would most likely be translated into a policy decision.

It amounts to a rejection of Saudi Arabia's request for Pakistan to support its military offensive in Yemen against Houthi rebels - which Riyadah says are backed by Tehran, though Iran denies arming them - by way of providing warships, fighter jets and troops.

However, the resolution also underscored Pakistan's commitment to protect Saudi Arabia's territory, which has so far not been under threat in the conflict. On launching the airstrikes last month, Saudi Arabia had vowed to continue its fight until Yemen's embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is reinstated.

The Yemen conflict puts Islamabad in an awkward position – the mainly Sunni Muslim nuclear-armed nation of some 180 million people has deep religious, economic and military ties to Saudi Arabia, but it also shares a long border with Shiite-led Iran and a sizeable Shiite minority. Friday's parliamentary resolution urged an internationally negotiated ceasefire and peaceful resolution, lamenting the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Yemen and its implications for regional stability.

The past week has seen a flurry of diplomatic visits to discuss the conflict, including the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visiting Islamabad for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and meetings in Turkey.