Pakistan Condemns Houthi Airport Strikes, Vows To Stand By Riyadh

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday told Yemen’s Houthis to “immediately cease” their attacks on Saudi Arabia, after strikes on the airports of Riyadh and Abha killed six people in three days and left a Pakistani among the injured.

In a post on X, the prime minister condemned what he called repeated terrorist attacks on the kingdom. Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi sovereignty, territorial integrity and security was resolute, he said, citing the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and the recent decisions of its strategic committee.

I strongly condemn the repeated terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the targeting of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport, which resulted in loss of lives and injuries to civilians.I…

He backed Riyadh’s right to defend its people, cities and vital infrastructure, praised Saudi forces and the coalition for intercepting ballistic missiles, and said Pakistan would keep standing shoulder to shoulder with the kingdom.

In Lahore, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League added its voice. A joint statement by party president Khalid Masood Sindhu, secretary general Saifullah Qasuri and other central leaders said attacks on Saudi soil and the loss of lives had distressed the entire Muslim Ummah.

The PMML leaders expressed grief over the civilian casualties, prayed for the injured and demanded action against those responsible and their alleged sponsors. Every Muslim, they said, was ready for any sacrifice in defence of the Haramain Sharifain.

The party welcomed any decision by the defence alliance of Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom and promised to mobilise public support at home. It had earlier urged more Muslim states to join the pact and condemned the attack on a power station in Madinah.

The toll has risen quickly. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport on October 6 and 7 killed three people and injured 36, a Pakistani national among them. A further strike on the Riyadh airport on Thursday killed three Saudi citizens and damaged airport facilities and a Saudia aircraft.

Lufthansa and Air India have suspended flights to Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed three ballistic missiles, two aimed at the capital and one at Khamis Mushait, and hit more than 80 Houthi military sites in Yemen in response.

The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed the airport strike and warned workers at Saudi oil facilities and airlines using Saudi airspace that more sites had been declared targets.

Islamabad’s language is familiar. On April 7, when Iranian missiles and drones struck energy facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Region, the Foreign Office called it a serious violation of Saudi sovereignty and territorial integrity and a dangerous escalation, and reaffirmed unwavering support for the kingdom’s security. Six months on, the attacker is different and the sentences are almost the same.

What has changed is their weight. In April the words expressed solidarity. Since the Makkah agreement of August 7, an attack on one signatory counts as an attack on all three, and on October 5 the allies agreed on the rapid deployment of forces to the kingdom. The military’s spokesman has confirmed that Pakistani troops are already there.

The posture remains defensive. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Pakistani and Turkish forces have a presence in the kingdom while the Saudi army does the fighting, and Pakistan continues to keep its channel to Tehran open. This week Islamabad also rejected a New York Times report that its jets were striking the Houthis.

Defence analysts read the deployment the same way. Brigadier (retd) Tughral Yamin of the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad told Al Jazeera earlier this week that Pakistan’s contribution is likely to be specialised, not large. He expects air defence units, drones, battlefield communications, engineers and some special forces to be added to the troops already in the kingdom.

The task for Islamabad, he said, is to draw its red lines carefully so that its soldiers stay out of combat against the Houthis. The question, in his words, is “how can they prevent getting involved”.

Dania Thafer, who heads the Gulf International Forum, told the same outlet that Riyadh’s immediate aim is help in defending Saudi territory and strengthening its air and missile shield. That, she said, signals that a further attack is no longer a matter between the kingdom and the Houthis alone.

The airport strikes follow an attempted drone attack on Makkah last month and a drone strike on a grid station in Madinah a week ago. Jordan also condemned the latest attacks on Friday, calling them a flagrant violation of Saudi sovereignty.