Any attack on Saudi Arabia is attack on Pakistan: religion minister
“Religious affairs minister on Tuesday strongly condemned Houthi attacks hitting civilian infrastructure and Umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, saying Islamabad considers any attack on the Kingdom as an a…”
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf made the remarks while speaking to Arab News after attending a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad, where leaders of prominent Pakistani religious parties and parliamentarians gathered to express solidarity with the Kingdom. The remarks followed several attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia targeting Saudi civilian and oil facilities.
A Pakistani national was killed and 11 other people were injured in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said. Speaking to Arab News, Yousaf expressed Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and said that Islamabad viewed the security and stability of the Kingdom as inseparable from its own.
“Any attacks that anyone has launched on Saudi Arabia, we consider them attacks on Pakistan,” the minister said.
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“No Muslim can tolerate attacks on Haramain Sharifain (Two Holy Mosques) and Hejaz-e-Muqaddas (Makkah and Madinah) to weaken the power of Muslims.”Pakistan is taking practical steps to support Saudi Arabia and the recently signed Makkah defense pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye is aimed at ensuring collective security through concrete defensive measures,.
“Pakistan has also practically proven it (support for Saudi Arabia), and for this, it is taking all kinds of steps and God willing, it will continue to take them,” Yousaf said. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) last year, while Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in August.
The defense pacts treat an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. Yousaf denounced Houthi attacks hitting Umrah pilgrims in the Kingdom who he said posed no threat to anyone. “[Attack on] Umrah pilgrims, this is such a heart-wrenching incident that has happened,” he said.
“See, as Muslims, this is a part of our faith. Whoever goes to perform Umrah or Hajj, goes to seek forgiveness for their sins... They do not go to fight with someone.
They do not go to attack someone.”Yousaf said Pakistan’s political leadership, religious parties and state institutions stood united in support of the government’s position on Saudi Arabia. “When the time comes, Muslims worldwide, and the people of Pakistan in particular, are fully prepared to sacrifice their lives and wealth to defend the sanctity of the Kingdom,” Yousaf said.
Shah Owais Noorani, who heads the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan party, said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were geographically separate but united by the bond of faith. He said no Muslim could justify attacks on Umrah pilgrims or the holy sites of Islam.
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