For eleven years, Islamabad has dodged one question: will it fight for Saudi Arabia? In April 2015, Parliament unanimously chose neutrality in Yemen while promising support if the kingdom’s territory or holy sites were threatened. That formula survived because nobody tested it. Now someone is. Pakistan has since signed two defence pacts. The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement of September 2025 treats aggression against either party as aggression against both. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed with Türkiye on August 7, extends the principle to three. Meanwhile, Yemen’s 2022 truce collapsed in July. The Houthis have declared a naval blockade of the kingdom and hit its tankers........

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