PM Shehbaz speaks to Saudi crown prince, condemns 'unacceptable' Houthi attack on vessels in Red Sea

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea in a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Such actions are unacceptable, violate international law, threaten freedom of navigation and undermine regional peace and security,” PM Shehbaz said in a post on the social media platform X.

Hostilities in the Middle East flared on Thursday as Yemen’s Houthis said that they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in a military operation. A Saudi news agency confirmed one of the two vessels was ablaze after an assault while sailing in the Red Sea.

In his post on X, PM Shehbaz said that he reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia during the call with the crown prince.

The premier said he conveyed that he, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and the nation “stand firmly and resolutely with the Saudi leadership and the brotherly people of the kingdom at this critical time”.

PM Shehbaz said that the two agreed to “continue working very closely to maintain regional peace, security, stability, and the uninterrupted flow of lawful maritime commerce through the Red Sea as well as the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region”.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) described the conversation between the two as “most cordial”. It added that the Saudi crown prince appreciated “Pakistan’s steadfast support and the close fraternal ties between the two countries”.

The conversation comes a day after Pakistan condemned continued threats by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, warning that it had the right to take all necessary measures in self-defence if its “maritime interests” were targeted in “any hostile act”.

The warning had come after the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and threatened to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait, one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints, in retaliation for what they described as the longstanding Saudi blockade of Yemen and a recent attack on Sanaa airport.

The Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, is a critical artery for Pakistan’s trade and energy supplies. A significant share of the country’s oil imports transits the Red Sea route, although no Pakistani vessels have so far been reported stopped or targeted.

Pakistan’s statement on Wednesday was by far the strongest issued by any non-Arab country on the Houthi threats.

Unlike most countries, which have confined themselves to expressing concern over freedom of navigation, Islamabad explicitly warned that any hostile act against Pakistani vessels could invite a response in self-defence.

The unusually forceful response also marks Pakistan’s strongest public warning to the Houthis since the group began attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea in late 2023.

It also comes less than a year after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in September 2025, under which aggression against one country is regarded as aggression against the other.