Pakistan, Egypt FMs Condemn Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia; Dar Briefs Iran's Araghchi on OIC Baghdad Talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Egypt on Sunday jointly condemned the Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Egyptian counterpart Dr Badr Abdelatty reaffirming their full solidarity with the Kingdom in a telephone conversation, as Islamabad stepped up its diplomatic engagement with a separate call to Iran's top diplomat on the OIC meeting in Baghdad.

The Foreign Office said the two foreign ministers exchanged views on recent regional developments and "strongly condemned the Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reaffirming their full solidarity with the Kingdom and support for its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security", Dawn and Arab News Pakistan reported.

Main News Report

According to the Foreign Office statement issued in Islamabad on Sunday, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Egypt's Foreign Minister Dr Badr Abdelatty, during which both sides discussed the recent escalation in Houthi attacks on Saudi territory.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation under the R-4 framework — the grouping of Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia — and said they looked forward to the next R-4 meeting soon to further strengthen mutual ties and coordinate on regional issues, the statement said, as reported by Anadolu news agency and The Express Tribune.

In a separate call on Sunday, Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi about the evolving regional situation and the ongoing meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad, which ran on October 17 and 18.

During the conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Dar underscored the importance of continued dialogue and diplomacy in addressing regional challenges, and the two foreign ministers agreed to remain in close contact, the Foreign Office said, according to the Tribune.

Background Context

The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalated this month, with missile and drone strikes targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has said the Houthis attempted attacks on dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, with coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki claiming the attacks this month killed 17 people and wounded 333 at the Riyadh airport.

Early on Sunday, the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Khamis Mushait had been intercepted and destroyed, as PakInsight Hub reported earlier today.

Pakistan has stood firmly behind Riyadh throughout the escalation. On Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told newly arrived Saudi Ambassador Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy that Pakistan stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, while strongly condemning the Houthi attacks, Dawn reported.

The diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of Pakistan's formal defence architecture with Riyadh: the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September 2025, under which an attack on either country is treated as aggression against both, and the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance signed on August 7, which also includes Türkiye.

Reactions and Statements

• Foreign Office of Pakistan — said Dar and Abdelatty "strongly condemned the Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reaffirming their full solidarity with the Kingdom and support for its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security".
• Ishaq Dar — in his call with Iran's Abbas Araghchi, stressed that continued dialogue and diplomacy were essential to addressing the region's challenges.
• Egypt's Foreign Ministry — the two sides agreed the R-4 grouping should keep coordinating on regional issues, with the next ministerial meeting expected soon.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — said on Friday that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had "always stood by each other", describing the defence pacts as "historic milestones" reflecting a shared commitment to regional peace.
• Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi — said on Saturday that Egypt would act in accordance with guidance from Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on developments in Yemen, Dawn reported.

Why This News Matters

• Pakistan's balancing act — Sunday's back-to-back calls show Islamabad pressing both sides of the regional divide: standing with Saudi Arabia and Egypt against the Houthis while keeping the channel to Tehran open through Araghchi.
• The R-4 framework is becoming the region's crisis forum — Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have been coordinating under the grouping since March on the Iran conflict and wider security, and Sunday's call keeps its momentum ahead of the next ministerial.
• Stakes for Pakistan — the Houthi strikes have already caused deaths and injuries among Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia, according to the Prime Minister's Office, giving Islamabad a direct human stake in de-escalation.
• OIC Baghdad meeting in focus — the Dar–Araghchi call, held as OIC foreign ministers met in Baghdad, signals Pakistan wants the Islamic bloc to keep a diplomatic off-ramp alive.

Future Developments

Diplomats will be watching for the date of the next R-4 ministerial meeting, which the two foreign ministers said they looked forward to holding soon. Any joint statement from the Baghdad OIC session on the Houthi–Saudi escalation — and whether Tehran engages with it — will show how much room remains for dialogue.

On the ground, the Saudi-led coalition's air defences remain on alert after Sunday's missile interceptions, and Pakistan's leadership has signalled it will keep pressing both the defence-solidarity and the diplomacy tracks in the days ahead.

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