PM reaffirms Pakistan’s support for Saudi Arabia amid Houthi attacks in meeting with newly appointed envoy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, while strongly condemning the recent escalation in Houthi attacks against the kingdom.

“The prime minister reaffirmed that Pakistan stood shoulder to shoulder with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement following Shehbaz’s meeting with newly appointed Saudi Ambassador Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy.

The prime minister “strongly condemned the recent escalation in Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, which had resulted in “the loss of precious lives and injuries to scores of innocent people, including Pakistani nationals”, the statement added.

“He underlined that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had always stood by each other,” it added.

PM Shehbaz said the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance marked “historic milestones” in the countries’ longstanding fraternal relations and reflected their “shared commitment to regional peace and security”.

The prime minister also noted that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations had “witnessed remarkable progress in recent years” and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to “further strengthening existing institutional mechanisms to deepen and broaden bilateral cooperation across various sectors”.

The premier welcomed Albugamy to Pakistan, congratulated him on assuming his new responsibilities and wished him success in his diplomatic assignment.

He also thanked the Saudi leadership for its “longstanding economic and financial support to Pakistan” and assured the ambassador of Pakistan’s full support and cooperation in further strengthening the two countries’ longstanding fraternal ties, the statement said.

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also met Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed Ambassador to Pakistan, Albugamy, in Islamabad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a post on X.

According to the ministry, Dar “underscored the longstanding fraternal bonds and strategic partnership between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and reaffirmed the two countries’ “shared commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation for mutual progress and prosperity”.

The newly appointed Saudi ambassador conveyed greetings from the Saudi leadership to Pakistan’s leadership and people, the ministry said.

Dar reciprocated with “warm greetings and best wishes” for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, and the people of Saudi Arabia.

The deputy prime minister also wished Ambassador Albugamy a successful tenure in Pakistan, the statement added.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye agreed to move immediately towards implementing their collective defence commitments and deploying agreed military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Strategic-Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Alliance for Defence in Riyadh on October 5.

Under the decision, the committee directed the necessary measures to provide the agreed forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with approved arrangements and the national legislation of the three countries. It said the move would enhance “readiness, military integration, and the collective capacity to confront and counter threats”.

On August 7, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye formalised their longstanding strategic relationship through the newly signed MJDA, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.

Houthi attacks

Houthis have repeatedly carried out missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia since the Yemen war escalated in 2015, targeting military installations, airports, oil facilities and other critical infrastructure.

Saudi authorities said attacks on October 6 and 7 killed three people and injured 36 others, including a Pakistani national. On October 11, a further strike on Riyadh airport killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, while a subsequent attack on October 12 killed a Pakistani resident and injured 11 others.

The attacks disrupted airport operations, with flights suspended or cancelled, while the Houthis also claimed an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

In September 2019, the group claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq processing facility and Khurais oil field, attacks that temporarily disrupted more than half of Saudi Arabia’s crude production.

The attacks continued in subsequent years, including strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure in March 2022.

More recently, Houthi attacks have again targeted Saudi territory. In September, the group claimed missile and drone strikes on a Saudi military base and other targets, while Saudi authorities reported attacks affecting several cities.

It is worth noting that on September 25, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye senior military leadership strongly condemned attacks targeting the holy city of Makkah as they reaffirmed their commitment to the collective defence of the Kingdom under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

Read: Makkah defence alliance agrees to 'rapid force deployment' in Saudi Arabia: FO

A day after that, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman reaffirmed continued joint efforts to confront attacks targeting Makkah and civilian and economic facilities in the Kingdom during a meeting with the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Then, on September 27, Defence Minister Asif also reiterated the resolve to implement the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement amid the rising Houthis attacks on Saudi Arabia and said that both Pakistan and Türkiye would stand with Saudi Arabia practically and diplomatically in case of any aggression.

Asif further stressed that protecting Saudi Arabia fell under divine duty.

"If there wasn't an agreement, if Saudi Arabia had been attacked, especially if the sacred cities of Makkah and Madinah were attacked, then we are bound by an eternal agreement; that is, we will protect the House of God and Madinah," he stated in an interview to a private channel.

He also outlined that the "worldly agreement" referring to the MJDA between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to protect one another, would operate in all circumstances.

Read more: Saudi-led coalition says new attack at Riyadh airport causes fire, day after strike kills 13

Yemen’s civil war reignited in July after a UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider Middle East war. Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have since claimed hundreds of strikes on Houthi-held territory. The Houthis say the attacks have killed civilians, including women and children. Reuters could not independently verify those claims.

The Saudis entered the Yemen war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition to try to force the Houthis out of ‌the Yemeni capital ⁠Sanaa. The war became a bloody stalemate, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed by fighting and famine.

A 2022 ceasefire reached by the Saudis and the Houthis unravelled this summer, culminating in a lightning Houthi advance that took the Red Sea chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces.

Significance of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement

The MJDA was the latest step in longstanding military and strategic cooperation between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. Signed in Makkah, the pact established a framework for collective deterrence and stipulated that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three, while providing for wider cooperation across defence.

The agreement followed nearly a year of negotiations and came amid heightened instability across the Middle East. Turkiye and Pakistan had sought closer regional security cooperation, while Saudi Arabia had faced growing security concerns as conflicts spread across the region, threatening its territory, energy infrastructure and ambitious economic development plans.

For Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the trilateral pact is built on their Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September 2025. That agreement stated that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both” and committed the two sides to strengthening defence cooperation and joint deterrence.