ADEN — A Yemeni presidential source on Saturday called on the United Arab Emirates to allow Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member Faraj Al-Bahsani to leave its territory and travel to Riyadh to take part in ongoing consultations sponsored by Saudi Arabia aimed at addressing developments in Yemen. In a statement carried by Yemen's official news agency Saba, the source said the request seeks to enable Al-Bahsani to work alongside the council's leadership and contribute to efforts led by Saudi Arabia to resolve the current situation, "in a manner that removes any ambiguity or confusion." The statement said the Yemeni leadership has been closely monitoring what it described as recent shortcomings in adherence to the principle of collective responsibility within the council during an exceptionally sensitive phase that required the highest levels of discipline and institutional cohesion. According to the source, the council's secretariat recorded an almost complete breakdown in communication with Al-Bahsani in recent weeks, along with his continued absence from constitutional duties without explanation, despite repeated attempts to reach him at a time when the state was engaged in intensive efforts to contain a serious escalation in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah and to protect civilians and social stability. The statement added that Al-Bahsani's posts on X included language encouraging escalation in the two governorates outside the framework of the state, as well as contradictory positions regarding Saudi Arabia's invitation to attend consultations in Riyadh. While he initially expressed willingness to attend in mid-December, he failed to appear, later citing that he was prevented from boarding a flight. It noted that although Al-Bahsani later welcomed Saudi Arabia's initiative to convene a conference on the southern issue, communication with him subsequently ceased and his whereabouts remain unclear. The presidency said it had handled the situation with "the utmost wisdom," allowing sufficient time for a responsible resolution and avoiding steps that could be interpreted outside an institutional framework. However, it stressed that the continued absence, support for unilateral actions outside state authority, and disruption of council meetings had become a source of serious concern and could not be allowed to persist. The source emphasized that membership in the Presidential Leadership Council constitutes a supreme constitutional responsibility based on strict adherence to the transfer-of-power declaration and the rules governing the council's work. It cannot, the statement said, be reduced to political or geographic representation, nor suspended due to individual positions or calculations outside the authority of the state. The presidency reaffirmed its commitment to institutional solutions, citing the sensitivity of the current phase and the need to preserve unity of ranks and sovereign decision-making. The statement concluded by underscoring the state's determination to reinforce the authority of its institutions and prevent any obstruction of their work, stressing that the current stage requires full clarity and commitment to the transitional framework to unify efforts toward restoring state institutions and ending the humanitarian suffering caused by the Houthis.
