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October 16, 2026

At UNSC, Pakistan Condemns Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia, Reaffirms Support for Kingdom's Security

By Anwar Iqbal  

Washington: Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s civilian and economic infrastructure, reaffirming its support for the kingdom’s security and right to self-defense amid escalating regional tensions.

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate on the Middle East, Pakistan’s acting Permanent Representative, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, said, “These attacks must cease immediately.”

He reiterated Islamabad’s support for efforts to secure a peaceful settlement in Yemen.

Pakistan also backed the UN special envoy’s efforts to resume dialogue aimed at achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has, in recent days, come under sustained attack, including a  strike  on Riyadh’s international airport that was the deadliest in years, as the war with the Houthis dramatically escalates.

Yemen’s civil war  reignited in July after a UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider  Middle East war  that has rocked the region and  roiled  energy supplies and markets.

The conflict in the country has caused what the UN calls one of the world’s worst  humanitarian crises , leaving most of the nation’s population dependent on aid.

The Saudi-led coalition has fought the Houthis  since 2015  after they seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa and forced out the internationally recognized government from the city, until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

 

Concern expressed over Gaza

In the same session, Pakistan joined the call for halting settler violence in the West Bank and abandoning attempts to annex occupied Palestinian territory.

“In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, settlement expansion, particularly the  E1 project , threatens to sever Palestinian territorial contiguity. Settler violence, demolitions, land seizures and forced displacement are entrenching annexation and dismantling the foundations of peace,” Jadoon said.

“All settlement activities must cease […]; settler violence must be halted; and accountability ensured.”

The E1 plan was  greenlit  by Israel last year and would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

Jadoon added that the international  support  for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue must be accompanied by concrete measures to preserve Palestine’s territorial integrity and viability.

“The two-state solution remains the internationally agreed framework and the indispensable foundation for just and lasting peace,” he said, adding that Resolution 2803, the  Comprehensive Plan  to End the Gaza Conflict, and the New York Declaration provided mutually reinforcing frameworks for advancing that objective.

“Pakistan supports their full and good-faith implementation,” he added.

He also condemned Israeli  incursions  into Al-Aqsa Mosque and demanded respect for the historical and legal status quo of the holy sites.

Regarding Gaza, Pakistan expressed concern over continued ceasefire violations, Palestinian deaths and restrictions on humanitarian access.

Jadoon warned that the approaching winter threatened to worsen the suffering of families living amid destruction without adequate shelter or essential services.

He called for the Gaza ceasefire to be fully upheld, humanitarian assistance to be delivered unhindered and at scale, and recovery and reconstruction to proceed without delay.

Pakistan also stressed the need to support the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, and demanded the release of withheld Palestinian revenues to enable the Palestinian Authority to fulfil its responsibilities. – Dawn

 

Courtesy Dawn

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