A government official has warned of making any concessions to the Houthi insurgent militia in the ongoing negotiations for the exchange of prisoners and abductees, which began on Sunday in the Omani capital, Muscat. The official indicated that the Houthis are not genuinely committed to alleviating the suffering of detainees.

Sheikh Hadi Haig, the head of the Prisoners and Abductees Foundation in the legitimate government, stated that “linking a humanitarian issue like the detainees’ case with other issues, such as economic matters, constitutes a grave crime.” He pointed out that the Houthis are attempting to tie the issue of prisoner and abductee exchanges to the economic dossier.

Sheikh Hadi Haig, in a statement broadcast by "Al-Ittihadiya Radio" on Sunday evening, emphasized that "yielding to the Houthis’ demands and blackmail, and failing to separate the humanitarian aspect from the economic and political issues under any pretext, is unacceptable to the Yemeni people."

He added: "We do not want the Houthis to participate in the rounds of talks to extract concessions from the government while leveraging pressures from other parties."

Haig asserted that "there are no sincere and strong pressures from the United Nations, the international community, or regional actors on the Houthis; if there are any pressures, they are solely on the government side".

Sheikh Haig expressed his welcome for the commencement of negotiations in Muscat, emphasizing the importance of addressing prior commitments, foremost among them the visitation rights for Mohammed Qahtan.

He explained that the government team is committed to following the directives of the President of the Presidential Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, which prioritizes the visitation rights of Qahtan.

He pointed out that the Houthis precede any negotiation process with new escalations, including issuing death sentences against journalists, academics, and dissenters, in addition to kidnapping workers from humanitarian organizations and pharmaceutical companies.