Pakistan condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia at UN, calls for de-escalation | The Express Tribune

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, calling for an urgent de-escalation and a UN-led political process to resolve the conflict.

“Pakistan condemns, in the strongest terms, all Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Ambassador Asim said, reaffirming Pakistan’s “unwavering support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, security, and prosperity of Saudi Arabia”.

Speaking at the meeting at a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Yemen late Tuesday night, Ahmad said Pakistan fully supported Saudi Arabia’s “legitimate right”, consistent with the UN Charter and international law, to take necessary measures to defend its territory, protect its citizens and safeguard its national assets against threats.

The ambassador also expressed concern over the expansion of Houthi attacks in and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, calling the vital maritime corridor “a serious escalation”.

He warned that continued violations of international law against commercial shipping posed a growing threat to freedom of navigation and the uninterrupted flow of international maritime commerce.

“Any attempt to threaten, obstruct, or weaponise the vital waterways will have consequences for international trade and commercial shipping, global supply chains, and energy security,” he said.

Ahmad said that the council meeting again within less than a week underscored “the urgency and gravity of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen”.

He added that the relative calm that had been “painstakingly maintained” in Yemen since 2022 had collapsed.

“Continued escalation risks reigniting a full-scale conflict and drawing Yemen deeper into the wider regional confrontation. This must be prevented,” he said.

He also highlighted the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen, saying diplomacy needed to match the gravity of the crisis.

Pakistan supported “the resumption of an inclusive, Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process under United Nations auspices”, the ambassador said.

“Pakistan will continue to support all sincere efforts towards de-escalation, dialogue, and a comprehensive political settlement that can bring lasting peace and stability to Yemen and the wider region,” he said.

Houthi attacks

The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have announced several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, including strikes on an air base on Monday that they said were retaliation for Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has also blamed a separate pro-Iranian movement based in Iraq for a Friday attack that knocked out its East-West Pipeline, one of the kingdom’s most important oil transport routes. Saudi officials say the 1,200-kilometre pipeline will be largely shut down for weeks for repairs after the attacks.

As Oil prices have risen since last week to levels not seen since May, with Brent crude futures rising above $108 a barrel on Tuesday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the crude should be flowing through the East-West Pipeline within days.

The Houthis have made major advances along Yemen’s western coast, seizing the Red Sea port of Mocha and three strategic islands in and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Officials from the Yemeni government said Saudi and Yemeni air forces had responded by stepping up bombardment of Houthi targets.

Read: Gulf on knife edge as Saudis, Houthis trade blows

The officials acknowledged that the Houthis now had effective control over almost the entire western coast along the Red Sea. “The Houthis are being put under heavy pressure. They in turn are putting more and more pressure on the Saudis, increasing their campaign of missile and drone attacks,” one Yemeni official said.

A Saudi-led military coalition said 13 civilians were wounded in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday. In Yemen, Houthi-run health authorities said Saudi airstrikes killed three people, including two children, in Taiz province. The claim could not be independently verified.

The renewed fighting is threatening shipping through the Red Sea, which has become more important because of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz since the wider war began. The United Nations Security Council was due to discuss the worsening crisis around Bab el-Mandeb on Tuesday.