Pakistan has issued a stark warning to Yemen's Houthi rebels, declaring that any attack on Pakistani-flagged or Pakistani-owned vessels in the Red Sea will be treated as an attack on the country itself and met with a swift military response. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi described the threshold as a "red line" rooted in national security, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately telephoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to condemn as "unacceptable" a Houthi strike that set a Saudi oil tanker ablaze in the Red Sea this week. The warning — among the strongest issued by any non-Arab country since the Houthis began targeting commercial shipping in late 2023 — also signals Islamabad's obligations under a mutual defence pact signed with Riyadh in September 2025, under which aggression against one party is considered aggression against the other.
Mosaic News
Pakistan warns Houthis that any attack on its ships is a 'red line'[Updated]
The Houthi escalation widened Saturday as the group launched missile and drone strikes against two major Saudi oil facilities on the Red Sea coast and separately claimed a missile attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan. The attacks came as the broader regional conflict showed tentative signs of de-escalation: the US halted its streak of 13 consecutive nights of strikes on Iran, with Trump reportedly directed by aides' concerns over ammunition stockpiles and a desire to allow Omani-brokered diplomacy room to breathe. CBS News cited two regional sources saying Oman's talks with Tehran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz are advancing positively, with an Omani delegation having arrived in Tehran on Friday, though no agreement has yet been reached.