Pakistan on Thursday rejected a New York Times report claiming its fighter jets are taking part in Saudi-led strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, calling it “fake and fabricated.”
The Times reported on Oct. 7, citing an unnamed senior Pakistani military official, that Pakistan Air Force fighter jets were being used in attacks against the Houthis, with Pakistan’s role focused on air support and countering Houthi missile and drone threats rather than ground operations.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting dismissed the account in a post on X, urging “international media organisations to avoid speculative reporting with regard to the employment of Pakistan’s Military Forces under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.”
The ministry said details of any deployment would be announced by the relevant authorities.
The denial follows an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey — the three signatories of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed in August — after which the governments said they would begin implementing collective-defence commitments.
Pakistan’s military has confirmed its forces are present in Saudi Arabia but has not disclosed their numbers. Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Islamabad’s support for Riyadh was firm but would be defensive in nature.
Earlier this week, the information ministry also dismissed as “speculative” a Reuters report claiming 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani troops would be deployed to Saudi Arabia.
The dispute comes as Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports in Riyadh and Abha killed three people this week, sharply escalating the conflict.
No independent evidence has emerged of Pakistani jet strikes against the Houthis. Reuters’ own Oct. 2 investigation reported Pakistani equipment and advisers sent to the region, but its sources said allies were not expected to participate directly in combat inside Yemen, and a Pakistani official said no decision had been made to deploy combat troops to Yemeni territory.
Pakistan’s on-record posture remains defensive. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistani and Turkish forces are in a supporting role while Saudi troops alone conduct combat operations, and Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the Makkah pact as a defence agreement, not an offensive one.
Sources: WE News, October 8; TRT World, October 8; The Bridge Chronicle, October 8; Reuters investigation, October 2.
