By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Houthi attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed at least 12 people and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, with the Saudi-led coalition vowing a decisive response.
Sharif said in a post on X on Sunday morning that he “strongly” condemned a “heinous attack” by the Houthi militia. He extended condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the injured to recover swiftly and fully. Attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure are “completely unacceptable” and a serious threat to regional peace and stability, he said, adding that such violence breaches international law and must stop immediately.
“Pakistan stands in unwavering solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, its leadership and its people, Sharif said. He cited the Makkah pact and the “enduring bonds of brotherhood” between the two countries in reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to the kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
The post follows a Friday statement in which Sharif condemned earlier strikes on the Riyadh and Abha airports and urged the Houthis to stop. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the trilateral pact in August, and it treats an attack on any one of them as an attack on all. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sept. 27 that Pakistan and Türkiye would stand with Saudi Arabia practically and diplomatically in the event of aggression. A Pakistani resident was among eight people injured in Wednesday’s attack on the same airport.
Early Sunday, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki blamed the Houthis for Saturday’s strike, saying it hit a passenger terminal and killed and injured travelers and airport workers. He said the coalition’s Joint Forces Command would respond firmly and in line with international humanitarian law. The coalition called the attack a “full-fledged war crime.”
Saudi civil aviation officials said 309 people were wounded, some seriously. The dead include four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one national each from the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. It was the third attack on the airport this week, and AFP described it as the deadliest strike on Saudi soil in more than a decade. The Houthis haven’t claimed Saturday’s strike. They did claim Thursday’s attacks on the airport, which killed three people, including a Saudia captain, and damaged a plane.
A diplomatic source told AFP the airport was hit by a missile at about 3 p.m. local time. A witness at the domestic terminal said he saw gate 401 struck and injured people in front of him. Health officials ordered emergency-room doctors to report to hospitals around the capital. Flightradar24 said 155 arriving and 161 departing flights were canceled and 222 were delayed. The U.S., Canadian, German and Spanish embassies warned citizens to avoid the facility, and a senior Western diplomat said several embassies had barred staff travel to and from the airport for a week.
President Donald Trump, asked whether Washington would join Saudi strikes, said “We may.” He called the attack “not acceptable” and said he would speak to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump’s position has shifted. Axios reported he declined the crown prince’s requests for strikes, and the New York Times later reported he told the Pentagon to prepare for them. Analyst Anna Jacob of the Arab Gulf States Institute predicted a tougher Saudi approach.
The fighting has widened since a truce collapsed in July. Saudi-backed government forces are advancing against the Houthis near the Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint for Red Sea oil and cargo shipping, after the group seized Yemen’s western coastline. The coalition said on Wednesday that it had destroyed 82 Houthi military targets.
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