An attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has resulted in the deaths of three Pakistani citizens, the South Asian country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel. We are in contact with the relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationally recognized Government of Yemen, to ascertain further details of the incident and the circumstances surrounding it,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said.
Pakistan’s statement comes after Yemeni authorities announced on Tuesday the Houthis struck a vessel off the country’s coast, in the Bab-al-Mandeb, killing six people and wounding ten others. The attack on the reportedly Egyptian-owned tanker marks the first shipping deaths linked to the Iran-aligned Houthis since the United States and Israel started their war with Iran. Yemen’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and called on the international community “to move from condemnation to effective and decisive action” against the Houthis.
There was no official comment from the Houthis. But the Houthi-run news agency Saba reported that the group had attacked a Saudi ship carrying military equipment in the Bab al-Mandeb. It did not name the ship, and there was no immediate Saudi response to the report.
The escalation in Yemen follows the collapse of a years-long truce in the country’s civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government. Last month, the Saudis attacked Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
The deaths of three Pakistani nationals mark a potentially important escalation in the Red Sea crisis, particularly as Yemen’s civil conflict intensifies. The Houthi attack also brings the crisis closer to Pakistan at a sensitive moment, days after Islamabad entered a mutual-defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Combined with tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, renewed disruption at Bab el-Mandeb continues pressure on the Middle East’s two most important maritime chokepoints, reflecting ongoing proxy activation connected to the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran.
