Pakistan condemns Houthi missile attack on Saudi royal palace

Foreign Office says Pakistan stands with Riyadh in event of any threat

Condemning yet another missile attack on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi rebels, Pakistan says it stands with Riyadh in an event of any threat to the country.

On Tuesday, the KSA said it intercepted a rebel missile over Riyadh, with the rebels claiming the target was Yamamah palace, the official residence of King Salman.

"Pakistan stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia against all forms and manifestations of terrorism," Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Faisal was quoted as saying by Express News. "We will be fully supporting the government and the people in case of any threat to the holy mosques."

The Saudi forces, he added, dismantled the missile before it could do any damage.

The spokesperson termed the rising incidents of attacks by Houthi rebels on civilians as posing a security threat to the region, stressing that a political solution to the crisis in Yemen was the need of the hour.

The KSA’s southern neighbour Yemen has been torn apart by a war between the Saudi-backed government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels backed by Iran.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to prop up Hadi’s government after the rebels seized the capital Sanaa, who continue to hold much of the country.

United Nations-backed talks have failed to broker a political settlement to end the fighting, which has left thousands of people dead and injured since the coalition intervened.