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Pakistan Vows to Defend Saudi Arabia Against Houthi Attacks — AI-generated representative image: Pakistani and Saudi military officers meet at an airbase, symbolizing the mutual defence commitment against regional threats.

Editorial Team

Islamabad's military commitment deepens as Houthi strikes intensify and defence pacts with Riyadh and Ankara face their first major test.

A senior Pakistani military officer has pledged that his country will defend Saudi Arabia against aggression "to any extent," as Yemen's Houthi rebels escalate attacks on the kingdom. Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director-general of the Pakistani military's media wing, told Saudi newspaper Arab News on Thursday that Islamabad stands with Riyadh both diplomatically and physically.

The commitment carries significant weight because Pakistan and Turkiye both recently signed defence agreements with Riyadh, and those pacts are now being tested by intensifying Houthi strikes. The promise also underlines Islamabad's strategic balancing act between its security ties to Saudi Arabia and its diplomatic channels with Iran, which backs the Houthis.

Key Commitments and Escalation

"I would like to underscore here the word 'physically'," Chaudhry said. "We will go to any extent." He added that Pakistani forces are already deployed to protect the kingdom and Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. However, he did not say whether Riyadh had requested additional troops or direct involvement against the Houthis.

On Friday, the Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out about 37 air strikes across Yemen in recent hours and promised to respond by "striking deep inside Saudi territory." The group named King Khalid Air Base and King Fahd Air Base as particular targets, and said it would also hit "oil companies far away from the holy sites."

Background of the Defence Agreements

The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, signed by Riyadh and Islamabad in September 2025, states that aggression against either country would be regarded as an attack on both. Invoking this agreement, Pakistan deployed fighter and support aircraft to Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Air Base in April, after the kingdom came under attack by Iran and its allies.

Last month, Pakistan and Turkiye signed a mutual defence pact as part of the Mecca Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, though it has not yet been made operational. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said earlier this month that unprovoked aggression against Saudi Arabia, or a spillover of the Yemen conflict into the kingdom, would trigger the pact, but he did not share specific details.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the Mecca pact as working like NATO's collective defence clause, with the country under attack requesting help from its treaty allies. However, Pakistan and Turkiye are anxious to remain mediators in the Middle East's conflicts and are believed to be unenthusiastic about direct involvement in hostilities.

Strikes, Casualties and Official Statements

Houthi authorities said the Saudi strikes targeted the al-Jawf, Saada, Hajjah, Taiz and Lahj governorates, killing five people, three of them children. The strikes also allegedly targeted telecommunications towers in several localities and were carried out by jets launched from Saudi airbases, according to local sources cited by reporters in Sanaa. An overnight attack on King Fahd Air Base resulted in damage to an Italian fighter jet, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said.

Earlier this week, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted a Houthi drone heading towards Mecca, drawing condemnation from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi denied targeting the city on Thursday, calling the claim a "heinous lie." Chaudhry also stressed that Pakistan continues working with regional partners towards "a negotiated, peaceful outcome" to the regional crisis.

Current Status and Next Steps

Pakistan's Foreign Office said last week that no military response was under discussion under the agreement at the moment, adding that Islamabad would act "when time comes." The Mecca pact involving Pakistan and Turkiye has yet to be made operational, and its full provisions remain undisclosed. The Houthis have indicated they will continue their current course, while Pakistan maintains diplomatic channels with Iran.