DOHA: Seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have severed ties with Qatar, denouncing it for backing terrorism and causing a rift among some of the most powerful Arab states. The first to severe ties was Bahrain, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives. The group accused Qatar of backing terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The allegations have been rubbished by Qatar which expressed “regret and utter surprise” at the coordinated move by the countries that are key players in OPEC and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Its foreign ministry criticised the “unjustified measures” and called it a “smear campaign” to harm Qatar. Meanwhile, residents stocked up on water, milk, meat and rice as Saudi closed its borders and cut off all land, air, and sea links. Photographs of empty chiller shelves circulated on social media even though the Qatari foreign ministry said the move would not affect normal life.
An Indian official in Doha said there was no “panic” in the expatriate community. “There is nothing to worry about,” he said. However, other sources contradicted, acknowledging a prolonged crisis could have an impact as Qatar remains completely dependent on Saudi and the UAE for food and other essential supplies. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the government informed that the government was ascertaining the impact of the spat on Indians. “There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC. Our only concern is about the Indians there. We are trying to finds out if any Indians are stuck,” she told the press.
The impact of the mass boycott became prominent as airlines including Etihad Airways, Emirates and Flydubai said they would cancel flights to and from Doha from Tuesday. Arab states closed their airspace to Qatar Airways, suspending all its flights to Saudi.
Even the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels also expelled Qatar. The country's stock market index sank 7.5 per cent and oil prices rose. Chairman of Iran's union of exporters of agricultural products, Reza Nourani said food can be exported by sea to Qatar, which relies on food trucked from Saudi Arabia across its sole land border crossing.
Saudi Arabia, in a statement released on Monday, said Qatar “embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, and al-Qaeda.” It added, “Qatar has also supported the activities of the Iranian-backed terrorsit groups in the Qatif province of Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Kingdom of Bahrain. It has also financed, adopted and is harbouring extremists who seek to destabilise unity at home and abroad.”
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Qatar and its neighbours to engage in dialogue. “Neighbours are permanent; geography can't be changed. Coercion is never the solution. Dialogue is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan.”
