Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia could activate defence pact, Pakistan says

What the report says

Pakistan’s defence minister has warned that the recently signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement could come into force if Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continue. Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would honour the pact if there is “unprovoked aggression” or spillover from Yemen into Saudi territory. His comments came after Yemen’s Houthi movement fired missiles into southern Saudi Arabia earlier in the week.

According to Al Jazeera, Riyadh said at least 73 people were wounded in the latest Houthi strikes. The agreement was signed last month by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, and is presented as a collective defence arrangement in which an attack on one member could be treated as an attack on all. The report notes that the precise way the pact would operate has not yet been publicly explained.

The remarks come amid a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, which has been largely frozen by a UN-brokered truce since 2022 but has seen renewed fighting this year. Al Jazeera also reported that Houthi-run media said Saudi warplanes later struck targets in several Yemeni governorates, including Marib, al-Jawf and Taiz, though Saudi forces had not immediately commented.

The broader significance is that tensions around Yemen are now intersecting with wider regional security concerns, including competition involving Saudi Arabia, Iran and other powers. The Bab al-Mandeb shipping route and Red Sea security are also part of the backdrop to the renewed hostilities.