Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” amid a recent escalation in Houthi attacks.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier made the remarks during a meeting with newly appointed Saudi Ambassador Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy. He welcomed the envoy to Pakistan and congratulated him on assuming his new responsibilities.
Ambassador Albugamy, assumed his diplomatic responsibilities in Islamabad on Thursday, reaffirming the commitment to strengthening the strategic and fraternal ties between the two countries.
During the meeting, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations had made significant progress in recent years and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors.
He “strongly condemned” the recent escalation in Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, which had resulted in deaths and injuries, including among Pakistani nationals, the statement said.
The prime minister also said the two countries had always stood by each other, adding that the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance marked “historic milestones” in their longstanding fraternal relations and reflected their shared commitment to regional peace and security.
PM Shehbaz also thanked the Saudi leadership for its longstanding economic and financial support to Pakistan and assured the ambassador of Pakistan’s full support and cooperation in further strengthening bilateral ties.
Ambassador Albugamy also met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, where the latter underscored longstanding fraternal and strategic ties between Islamabad and Riyadh, according to the Foreign Office (FO).
He also reaffirmed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s “shared commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation for mutual progress and prosperity”.
The FO added that the new Saudi envoy conveyed greetings from the kingdom’s leadership to Pakistan, with Dar reciprocating and conveying his best wishes to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi leaders.
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, after Saudi officials reported a strike on a building in Riyadh housing the energy giant’s operations centre.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said on Friday that it intercepted missiles and drones over Riyadh and other areas.
“We intercepted and destroyed three drones in the southern area and Riyadh … and two cruise missiles over the Red Sea,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on X. He added that “in the past hours, we intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile over Yanbu”, a city home to the terminus of a major oil pipeline on the Red Sea coast.
Moreover, a Houthi commander was killed in clashes with Yemeni government forces near Mount Han in the southwestern city of Taiz, a Yemeni official said on Friday.
Fayyad al-Noman, a Yemeni media spokesman, said on US social media platform X that Abdulrahman Mohammed Sufyan Wajih al-Din, also known as Abu al-Karrar, was killed by government troops near Mount Han. Al-Noman identified the slain Houthi commander as a brigadier general and director of Dhi al-Sufal in the Ibb province.
He did not specify when the incident occurred or provide further details on the circumstances of the killing.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Taiz has remained a major front line in Yemen’s conflict, with government forces and the Houthis engaged in repeated clashes around the city.