Pakistan is prepared to make its military capabilities available to Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks raise the risk of a wider regional war, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in Rome on Tuesday, September 29. Speaking to reporters, he said Islamabad would meet its obligations under a mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey using the means at its disposal, according to the Associated Press.
Asif declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already taken part in airstrikes in Yemen. He also did not say whether Riyadh had formally requested assistance. His remarks therefore signal a willingness to defend Saudi Arabia but do not establish that Pakistan has entered the fighting, AP reported.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7. It treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all three, according to AP. The governments describe the pact as defensive. Asif said the allies are still establishing a secretariat and an operational framework, while commanders from the three countries recently met in Riyadh to discuss Houthi attacks.
The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia and expanded their control along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, Asif said. AP reported that the group captured the port of Mokha and several islands, extending its reach toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The United Nations warned earlier this month that fighting on Yemen’s western coast had intensified and that the advance was adding to concerns about Red Sea shipping.
The risk extends beyond Yemen because the strait is an important route for international trade. The UN said commercial shipping there appeared unaffected at the time of its September 15 briefing, even as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continued. Asif’s comments give the young defense alliance an early test while leaving the scope of any Pakistani military response unclear.
Asif said Pakistan was also pressing for negotiations to end the wider conflict involving Iran and supported renewed talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, AP reported. A UN envoy separately said Tuesday that he had met Houthi negotiators over the weekend to try to prevent further escalation in Yemen. The next steps depend on diplomatic contacts and any decisions the three allies make about their pact.
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