Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan has vehemently denied that its fighter jets attacked Houthi missile and drone installations in Yemen as Islamabad seeks to avoid being dragged into a conflict with a movement backed by neighbouring Iran.
The New York Times had earlier quoted an unnamed senior Pakistan official saying that it, “is expected to focus on degrading Houthi drone and missile installations through air support….”
A Pakistan government statement fiercely insisted that the NYT story, “Attributing the employment of PAF aircraft against Houthis is fake and fabricated.”
However an earlier report in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper indicated that Pakistan Air Force planes may have been involved in reconnaissance operations.
Islamabad’s denial comes as the new Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey defence pact faces its first major test with the Houthi militia in Yemen this week launching its deadliest attacks on Saudi Arabia since the war with Iran-backed rebels flared again.
The Houthi strikes on airports in Riyadh and Abha on Wednesday killed three people and injured dozens more, according to Saudi officials. More explosions shook Riyadh on Thursday.
The NYT report highlights the difficulty Pakistan faces in dancing with two partners. Islamabad has close military and strategic ties with Saudi Arabia and around 8,000 Pakistani military personnel are stationed in the kingdom. But Pakistan also shares a lengthy border with Iran, which backs the Houthi movement, and has long sought to balance its relationship with Tehran against its close ties to Riyadh.
This week, the Pakistan information ministry termed a Reuters report claiming the deployment of 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia as “speculative”.
The New York Times had earlier reported that the Pakistani forces in Saudi Arabia “include a contingent from the Pakistan Air Force and the Army Air Defense”, adding that they would likely be used to help secure the kingdom’s oil infrastructure. That would be very different from Pakistani aircraft crossing into Yemen to attack Houthi positions.
The New York Times quoted a former US attache in Pakistan as saying that Pakistani soldiers were unlikely to engage in direct combat with the Houthis because Islamabad “walks a fine line to preserve its relationship with Iran.”
That balancing act has become more complicated since Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Mecca agreement in early August. On Monday, the three countries agreed to the deployment of military forces and capabilities rapidly in the kingdom during an emergency meeting.
The deal commits the three countries to defend one another if one member comes under attack by a hostile force. Under the pact, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The agreement was intended to provide Saudi Arabia with a stronger security umbrella, but its wording and the insistence by its members that it is defensive rather than offensive are now being put to the test.
Both Pakistan and Turkiye have made clear that the pact does not mean they have signed up to offensive military operations.
This would mean that if Saudi Arabia is attacked, Pakistani forces can defend Saudi territory. But taking part in strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen would risk turning Pakistan from a defender of its ally into a combatant in the Yemen war.
Asked about a possible operational role by Pakistan and Turkiye, Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif replied that both nations had a “presence in the theatre”, but only Saudi troops were involved in combat operations.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen’s northwest, are fighting for territory against the Saudi-backed Yemen government forces after the civil war reignited in July and they captured large swathes of land along the coast.
Pakistan’s problem is how to comply with its new security commitment to Saudi Arabia without becoming directly involved in the broader Saudi-Iranian conflict.
Turkiye is facing a similar dilemma. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday evening that Ankara was examining how it could help Saudi Arabia but underlined that the Mecca pact was defensive and not offensive.
Fidan said Turkiye was particularly looking at assistance with air defence, electronic warfare and technical support.
Such assistance would allow Turkiye to help protect Saudi territory from Houthi missiles and drones without committing Turkish forces to attacking targets in Yemen.
Ankara faces an additional complication as the Turkish parliament has not yet ratified the Mecca agreement.
Now, the new alliance is being forced to make clear what its promise to defend the kingdom means in practical terms.
For Riyadh, the distinction may be less important as it needs all the help it can get in protecting its territory, airspace and oil infrastructure from missiles and drones.
The Houthis say that their attacks against Saudi Arabia are in retaliation for Riyadh’s bombing campaign in Yemen.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced a major counter-offensive against the Houthis this week.