With Iran-backed Houthis opening a new front in the war in West Asia, Pakistan has now addressed its defence pact with Saudi Arabia and its position on the conflict.
Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, denied the group had targeted Mecca and called the Saudi reports a set-up for propaganda. “This military alliance that we have got into, it is not something that has come out of the blue. It is based on decades-old strategic relationships between the countries. A lightning offensive last week gave the Houthis effective control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, including the port of Mocha and Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandab strait.
This came after Saudi temporarily shut its 1,200-km East-West oil pipeline following a drone attack launched from Iraq.
Speaking to Al Arabiya English, Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the defence pact between Saudi, Pakistan and Turkey had “no aggressive element” and was based on “collective deterrence”, terming it as “purely defensive. The Pakistan Army spokesperson, when asked whether the defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey complicates Islamabad’s position towards Iran, said the military alliance was not forged “out of the blue. And these relationships that Pakistan has with both these countries are special,” Chaudhry said. He added that Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and Turkey was based on “an emotional connection”, a “cultural connection”, people-to-people ties as well as a “military connection which spans over decades. The coalition said “the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line” and promised deterrent measures against the Iran-backed group. Last week, Pakistan expressed “complete solidarity” with Saudi Arabia following Houthi attacks, and warned that the strikes threaten regional security and global energy supplies. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed the support to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a phone call, according to Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office.
The remarks come after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen accused the Houthi rebels on Wednesday of targeting Islam’s holy city Mecca, triggering outrage across the Muslim world and deepening the already raging conflict in the region. On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had shot down a drone south of Mecca a day earlier before it could enter the restricted airspace over Islam’s holiest city.
