Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, asked Iranian leaders to press Yemen’s Houthis to stop attacks on Saudi Arabia, a fellow signatory to Islamabad’s new collective defense pact, Anadolu reported.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on Aug. 7. Under the agreement, an armed attack on any one of them is treated as an attack on all three, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said. President Asif Ali Zardari said Oct. 13 that the pact was defensive and was not directed at any country.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said Oct. 16 that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia had killed and injured civilians and that Pakistani nationals were among the casualties.
Munir raised the attacks during his Oct. 20 meetings with Iranian leaders in Tehran. Pakistani government sources told Anadolu that the attacks received more attention in those meetings than efforts to restart direct negotiations between Iran and the United States.
The sources said Iran renewed an offer to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. They also said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Washington to lift sanctions and end threats and pressure before U.S.-Iran negotiations resume.
The Pakistani sources said the two sides would maintain indirect contact between Washington and Tehran through mediators.
