Pakistan is a country full of surprises. Just when you think the political situation couldn’t possibly get worse it usually does. But sometimes, despite all signs to the contrary, the reverse is also true and the country takes an unanticipated leap forward on the bumpy road to democracy. Take the resolution the Parliament passed unanimously April 10 not to join the military operations that Saudi Arabia is leading against the Houthi in Yemen. To say this came as a surprise is an understatement given that the Saudi government had already announced Pakistan’s participation in Operation Decisive Storm.

Pakistan historically has close ties to Saudi Arabia, and the current PM has had an especially close relationship since 1999 when the House of Saud provided him a safe haven after General Pervez ousted him in a coup. Sharif spent 6 years in exile there and his return to Pakistan in 2007 was brokered, in part, by the Saudis. Last year, the Saudi government mysteriously gave the PM’s newly elected government a $1.5 billion loan for which no public explanation has yet been provided. Saudi financial support to Pakistan goes back years and the two countries have always enjoyed what they term “brotherly” relations.

Given this history, one would expect Pakistan to be the first in line to join the Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthi who, the Saudis claim, are a proxy for Iranian Shia expansionism in the region. PM Sharif, instead, issued a call for a joint session of the Parliament to debate the Saudi request for troops.

The call for a parliamentary session was surprisingly uncharacteristic as the Prime Minister has been notoriously absent from parliament since his election in 2013 with critics accusing him of running government like a private family business. The call for a parliamentary session on a matter that touches his own very close personal connection to the Saudi royal family was unusual, to say the least.

The PM’s move was even more surprising considering that parliament had been virtually paralyzed for seven months by the Pakistan Tereek Insaf (PTI), a party led by former cricketer Imran Khan. Khan called last August for mass demonstrations to protest alleged poll rigging in the 2013 elections. Tens of thousands of protestors parked themselves in front of the Parliament and refused to budge until the PM resigned. The PTI Members of Parliament submitted their resignations and boycotted parliamentary sessions despite numerous pleas to return. Parliamentarians were forced to enter the building via the back door and it was difficult for them to focus on anything other than how to resolve the unprecedented dispute. At one point the protesters even stormed the building threatening to carry out serious physical damage. The demonstration ended December 17 but the PTI MPs still refused to return to parliament until the PM constituted a judicial inquiry into the allegations of election rigging.

The same day Prime Minister Sharif called for the joint session on Yemen, he finally announced the formation of a judicial inquiry into the allegations of election rigging which led the PTI MPs to return to parliament for the debate. The parliamentary resolution, which calls for Pakistan to “maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis” both carves out an independent role for Pakistan and unites the country’s political parties in a rare act of consensus after months of bitter confrontation.

The week-long debate, where the complex issues regarding the conflict in Yemen and its impact on Pakistan, which shares a long border with Iran in addition to its close ties to Riyadh, was a demonstration of political transparency and accountability rarely seen in Pakistan. Most often such issues are discussed “in camera” where secrecy is deemed necessary for national security or parliament is sidelined entirely and replaced by an All Parties Conference where party leaders alone, elected or not, make deals and decisions behind closed doors.

The Yemen resolution demonstrates that when there is political will, the parliament of Pakistan can be an effective means of debate and decision making on vital matters of state. The open debate marks a turning point that respects the right of citizens to hold their representatives accountable and strengthens the institution of parliament within the democratic framework. While the resolution is not binding, it sets a powerful precedent and provides a compelling basis on which the government can move forward knowing it does so with the full support of the peoples’ elected representatives in parliament.