Pakistan expected to support Saudi defences in planned Houthi campaign
Pakistan is expected to provide Saudi Arabia with defensive military support as Riyadh prepares for a major campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Analysts say the role could include air defence, intelligence and counter-drone work, while the precise scope of Pakistan’s involvement remains under negotiation.
Pakistan is expected to support Saudi Arabia’s defensive operations as Riyadh prepares for a major campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, according to defence analysts cited by the South China Morning Post. Pakistani forces are not expected to take part directly in planned ground offensives. Instead, their possible role would free Saudi forces to concentrate on operations against Houthi fighters and forces aligned with Yemen’s divided government.
Andreas Krieg of King’s College London said Saudi Arabia needed Pakistan to help defend its territory. Potential tasks include air and missile defence, radar and early warning, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, counter-drone operations, electronic warfare and command-and-control support. Pakistan could also provide maintenance, munitions support, training, operational planning and possibly additional aircraft and unmanned systems for defensive patrols.
Surveillance and naval assistance around the Red Sea could be valuable because the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has become increasingly contested, Krieg said. Dave Des Roches, a former Pentagon official, said Saudi Arabia wanted Pakistani forces to cover a broad range of military operations. He added that Pakistan was unlikely to agree to such a comprehensive role and that the scope and location of any deployment remained subject to negotiation.
Saudi political scientist Nawaf Obaid has claimed that Pakistani and Saudi joint terminal attack controller teams were already embedded with Yemeni government formations. The claim, published by Al Jazeera English, has not been independently confirmed in the supplied material. Pakistani officials have remained publicly silent about specific activities.
Pakistan deployed about 8,000 troops, JF-17 fighters and HQ-9 air-defence systems to Saudi Arabia in April under a mutual defence pact signed in September 2025. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan was bound to defend Saudi Arabia and would make available whatever means it had. Saudi and Pakistani leaders have framed the conflict around alleged threats to Mecca and Medina.
The Houthis have dismissed Saudi allegations of drone attacks on the holy cities as propaganda.
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