Pakistan Pledges 'Whatever Support' to Saudi Arabia Amid Houthi Attacks
Military spokesman says a collective defence pact with Riyadh and Türkiye is now in effect as Houthi strikes continue
By AXY Pakistan Desk ·
Key points
- Pakistan’s ISPR chief said Islamabad is providing “whatever support is needed” to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks.
- The pledge rests on the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance, which also includes Türkiye.
- Pakistan says the alliance is purely defensive and not aimed at Iran or Israel, though critics remain sceptical.
- Pakistan’s naval officer serves as deputy commander of a multinational maritime coalition protecting key shipping routes.
Pakistan is providing “whatever support is needed” to help defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said in remarks reported by Dawn. The military spokesman made the comments in an interview with Independent Arabia that aired on Sunday, at a time when the kingdom has been facing deadly Houthi attacks in recent weeks. His remarks offer one of the clearest public statements from Islamabad on the scope of its security commitments to Riyadh since the two countries moved to formalise their defence ties.
The statement matters for three reasons. It confirms that Pakistan sees the Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia as a direct security concern, not a distant regional dispute. It signals that Islamabad is prepared to rely on formal defence agreements in a crisis. And it comes during a wider period of tension in the Middle East that has drawn in Iran, Israel and the United States, raising the risk that a local conflict could spread. For ordinary readers in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and across the region, the question is whether these pledges will translate into a broader and more dangerous military confrontation, or whether they are meant to deter one.
What the military spokesman said
Asked about the military support Pakistan is giving the kingdom, Lt Gen Chaudhry said Saudi Arabia’s “sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security, and foremost the security of the Two Holy Mosques, is paramount.” He described this as “non-negotiable” and “absolute as far as Pakistan is concerned,” adding: “So whatever support is needed to do that is being provided and will be provided.” He also said that no alliance makes public the specifics or the quantities of the support it provides, which means the scale of Pakistan’s assistance cannot be independently confirmed from the public statement alone.
The spokesman also described the public mood in Pakistan. “Our reaction in Pakistan, on the streets, from a young boy and girl up to our political and military leadership, is one of anger,” he said. He asked why “anyone in his right mind” would attack or threaten Saudi Arabia or its holy places, and said there could be “no ifs and buts” about the security of the holy sites. Those remarks reflect how strongly the protection of Makkah and Madinah, known in Arabic as the Haramain Sharifain or the Two Holy Mosques, resonates across the Muslim world and particularly in Pakistan, which has deep religious and cultural ties to the kingdom.
Two defence pacts behind the pledge
The support is framed within two agreements. The first is the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh, which was signed in September 2025 and is designed to deter aggression against either country. The second is the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance, which also includes Türkiye. According to the source report, both pacts are aimed at what officials call collective deterrence: the idea that an attack on one member will be treated as a threat to all, so that a potential aggressor is discouraged from acting in the first place.
Collective deterrence is a widely used concept in military alliances such as NATO. It works on the principle that the credibility of a response matters as much as the response itself. Lt Gen Chaudhry cited Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognises the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs. He said the mechanism “gives a very strong and clear message to those elements of instability, of chaos, in the region that if you directly or indirectly wage this war against any of these three countries, then the response will be collective.” He added that if that deterrence fails, it “has to be re-established by all means that are available to the three countries.”
Why the Houthi conflict matters
The Houthis are a armed movement based in northern Yemen that controls much of the country’s north, including the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia led a military coalition in Yemen from 2015 to support the internationally recognised government against the group, and the two sides have had on-and-off confrontations since. Houthi forces have also attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea since late 2023, which disrupted one of the world’s busiest trade routes. Analysts say that any renewed Houthi strikes on Saudi territory would therefore have consequences beyond the kingdom’s borders, affecting energy markets and global shipping costs.
The source report does not provide a casualty figure or describe the specific attacks in detail, so readers should treat the broader picture as context rather than a full account of individual incidents. What the source does make clear is that Saudi Arabia has been under deadly attack in recent weeks, and that Pakistan’s leadership has chosen to publicly link its response to those attacks.
Deterrence and the question of offensive intent
One of the most closely watched questions was whether Pakistan’s support would remain strictly defensive if the Houthi attacks continue. Lt Gen Chaudhry said all three members of the alliance were “absolutely clear” that the arrangement “has no offensive intent; it is purely defensive.” He also said the pact was not “country-specific” and was not aimed at Iran or Israel, despite reports linking its formation to those countries. He added, however, that the alliance exists “to have peace, stability and security in the region,” and that any actor threatening that goal would “automatically interact with this collective deterrence mechanism.”
That wording leaves room for interpretation. Defensive alliances can be read differently depending on who is observing them, and the spokesman acknowledged that scepticism exists. He said critics were “only those who have a problem with this alliance, so it’s their job to do this criticism.” Independent analysts are likely to examine how the pact’s deterrence language would be applied in a real incident, because the line between defence and escalation is often unclear once fighting begins.
Regional escalation and maritime security
Lt Gen Chaudhry described the regional situation as a recurring cycle. “You have seen a sinusoidal sort of pattern in this conflict, that it does down and then the agent of chaos starts and they come into play and take the entity up,” he said. He argued that expanding the conflict to the Houthis or other places “doesn’t serve anything” and “only serves those who are interested in chaos in the region.” He said Pakistan had been speaking with all parties, including Iran, “with the singular intent of restraint and to reduce the temperatures.” He said the parties’ conversations were focused on “dialling down the escalation.”
The spokesman also referred to threats to maritime navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz. These narrow waterways are among the most important shipping chokepoints in the world. Bab al-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, while the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with open ocean and carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil. According to the source, Riyadh has established a multinational maritime defence coalition, and a Pakistani naval officer serves as its deputy commander. Disruption in either strait can quickly raise fuel prices and insurance costs, which is why these waters are closely monitored by governments and businesses alike.
What comes next
Lt Gen Chaudhry called on Muslim countries to “unite” and said there was no advantage for any country in escalating conflicts “vertically or horizontally.” He said Pakistan had been urging all parties to stop attacking one another since the US-Iran war erupted, as described in the source material. He warned that if negotiations fail and the situation becomes a full military conflict, the Makkah alliance’s collective deterrence “will definitely come into play, as it is coming into play.”
The next developments to watch are whether the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continue, whether diplomatic channels involving Pakistan, Iran and Gulf states reduce tensions, and whether the defence pacts are invoked in practice. Each of those steps would test the claim that the alliance is purely defensive. Because the military spokesman said the specifics of support would not be made public, observers will rely on official statements, regional diplomacy and maritime reports to judge how the commitment is being carried out.
Questions and answers
What did Pakistan say about supporting Saudi Arabia?
Pakistan’s ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan is providing “whatever support is needed” to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks. He made the remarks in an interview with Independent Arabia that aired on Sunday.
Why is Pakistan involved in defending Saudi Arabia?
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, and both are part of the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance, which also includes Türkiye. The alliance is aimed at collective deterrence, meaning an attack on one member would be met with a collective response.
Is the Pakistan-Saudi defence alliance aimed at Iran?
Lt Gen Chaudhry said the pact is not “country-specific” and has no offensive intent. He said it exists to promote peace, stability and security, and that any actor threatening those goals would interact with the collective deterrence mechanism.
What happens next with the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia?
The source material does not describe a specific next step. The DG ISPR said Pakistan is pursuing restraint and dialogue with all parties, and warned that the alliance’s collective deterrence would come into play if negotiations fail and military conflict follows.
Topics: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Houthis, ISPR, Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, Makkah Joint Defence Alliance, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry
Sources: Dawn