Pakistan Warns Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Could Trigger Military Response
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has signalled that it could take military action against the Houthis if attacks on Saudi Arabia continue, invoking a mutual defence pact signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the Mecca Mutual Defence Pact regards an armed attack on any one of its three members as an attack on all of them.
“There is no ambiguity. If unprovoked aggression or the war in Yemen spills into Saudi Arabia, the pact will certainly become operational,” Asif said, suggesting Islamabad would meet its commitments under the agreement if called upon.
His warning followed a series of Houthi missile and drone strikes on targets in southern Saudi Arabia on September 8.
The reported targets included military and energy facilities in Abha, Jizan, Najran and Khamis Mushait. At least 73 people were reportedly wounded in the attacks.
The strikes have intensified concerns that Yemen’s conflict could spread across its borders, bringing other regional powers into direct confrontation with the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
Pakistani sources cited by Türkiye Today said Islamabad was weighing possible air strikes on Houthi positions in Saada and elsewhere in Yemen if Riyadh formally sought military support.
The sources emphasised, however, that Pakistan had not reached a final decision on whether to launch such operations.
Any intervention by Pakistan in Yemen would mark a major escalation and could create a new front in the confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
It could also carry broader consequences for the Middle East, where Houthi attacks on Saudi territory have formed part of a wider regional conflict.
Recent Houthi strikes have reportedly sparked fires at energy facilities and disrupted activity at some oil installations, adding to concerns about the protection of Saudi Arabia’s critical infrastructure.
Signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on August 7, 2026, the Mecca pact establishes a collective defence framework requiring the three countries to respond jointly to armed aggression against any member.
The agreement has been compared with NATO’s Article 5, which treats an attack on one alliance member as an attack on the alliance as a whole.
For Pakistan, a decision to enter the conflict would bring substantial strategic and diplomatic risks, particularly because Islamabad has traditionally avoided direct military involvement in Yemen.
Asif’s latest remarks nonetheless suggest that a major Houthi assault on Saudi territory could become the first significant test of the new defence arrangement.
AXADLETM
