Pakistan Seeks to Avoid Saudi-Houthi War Despite Defense Commitments to Riyadh

Pakistan is seeking to keep itself out of an escalating confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, as its expanding defense commitments to Riyadh collide with its effort to preserve relations with Tehran.

The fighting has become the first major test of a mutual defense alliance signed last month by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, under which an armed attack against one member is treated as an attack against all three.

Islamabad is also bound to Riyadh through an earlier bilateral defense arrangement.

Pressure on Pakistan

Pakistani officials see the Houthi threat as carrying a greater risk of drawing Islamabad directly into conflict than Iranian missile attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure earlier this year.

Pakistani troops are already stationed near Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, two Pakistani officials said in July, increasing the possibility of direct exposure if fighting widens.

Pakistan has also previously deployed thousands of troops and a squadron of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia under its earlier defense arrangements.

But Islamabad has shown no sign that it wants those commitments converted into an active role against the Houthis.

"Pakistan is trying to keep a low profile in the Saudi-Houthi conflict because Pakistan’s own stakes are high," a Pakistani government official said. "It does not want to spoil relations with Iran."

Foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said on Thursday that no military response to Houthi attacks was under discussion.

Tehran Remains Central

Pakistan’s calculations extend beyond its defense relationship with Saudi Arabia.

The country depends on oil and gas shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, maritime routes Iran and the Houthis have shown they can disrupt.

Relations with Tehran have also been volatile.

Iranian missile and drone strikes against alleged militant positions in Pakistan’s Balochistan province two years ago triggered retaliatory Pakistani attacks before the confrontation subsided.

Islamabad is now attempting to contain tensions before they reach that point again.

This week, Pakistan conveyed a Saudi warning calling on Iran to restrain the Houthis, according to Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources.

Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir also spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Thursday about "ways to restore diplomatic efforts to de-escalate on all fronts," according to a Pakistani source.

"Iran’s leadership has consistently appreciated Pakistan’s mediation efforts," Khan said. "Pakistan has consistently opposed escalation and advocated restraint, dialogue and diplomacy."

Limits of Mediation

Iranian officials have publicly welcomed Pakistan’s diplomatic role and said they do not consider the defense pact a threat.

Privately, however, three Iranian sources said doubts remain over Islamabad’s ability to influence events, arguing that Pakistan lacks the negotiating experience and leverage associated with Qatar.

Farzana Shaikh, an associate fellow at Chatham House, similarly questioned how deep Iranian confidence in Pakistan had been.

She said Islamabad "does not have the kind of wherewithal or indeed experience that Qatar and Oman would have brought to the table."

Shaikh argued that Pakistan’s increased diplomatic relevance was linked less to its independent leverage than to the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Munir.

Trump has repeatedly referred to Munir as his "favorite field marshal" following Pakistani efforts centered on crypto deals, U.S. access to rare minerals and counterterrorism.

Alignment As Leverage

Other analysts see Pakistan’s close ties with Saudi Arabia and Washington as part of its usefulness to Tehran, not an obstacle.

Kamran Bokhari, a Washington-based analyst on Pakistan-Iran relations, said Iran engages Islamabad partly because Pakistan can transmit messages from governments with which Tehran has more difficult relationships.

That arrangement, however, depends on Pakistan remaining a conduit rather than becoming a participant in the fighting.

"Relaying and shaping messages is one thing," Bokhari said, but "active air-defense or intelligence support is another, tipping Pakistan from stakeholder into combatant."

A deeper Saudi-Houthi confrontation could therefore force Islamabad to decide where mediation ends, and its defense obligations begin.

Wider Gulf Commitments Curbed

Pakistan is already showing caution about extending similar guarantees elsewhere in the Gulf.

After Islamabad and Riyadh signed their earlier defense agreement, Kuwait sought a broadly comparable arrangement, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

Pakistani officials instead reduced the scope of the talks, concerned about adding another military commitment involving a Gulf state exposed to possible Iranian attacks.

Pakistan and Kuwait ultimately signed a narrower protocol last month covering training, border security and capacity-building.

Khan said on Thursday that there were currently no plans to add further countries to the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Türkiye alliance.

The restraint also reflects military pressure at home.

Pakistan has forces deployed along its tense border with India while simultaneously confronting insurgencies in its western provinces.

"Pakistani forces are stretched," Bokhari said, making additional Gulf commitments "daunting."