For the first time in history, the Islamic holy city of Mecca was put on emergency alert, warning of a possible aerial attack as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi rebel group intensified. Though the alert was lifted within minutes, it has sparked outrage across the Muslim world and deepened the conflict roiling the region.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper last week reported that Pakistan’s Foreign Office stressed that the possibility of Pakistani forces striking Houthi targets inside Yemen was, at present, only a hypothetical situation. The statement came after the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone south of Mecca on Tuesday evening before it entered the prohibited airspace around the holy city. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have formal ties, as the kingdom has not joined the Abraham Accords, maintaining that formal normalisation with Tel Aviv requires a clear, irreversible path toward Palestinian statehood. Islamabad, meanwhile, sent a word of ‘condemnation’ over Houthis making holy Mecca a possible target.
Despite that, the report said the kingdom had to seek Israel’s assistance focused on intelligence support to develop a broader picture of Houthi military deployments in the area and identify potential plans for future operations. However, after backlash over the stance, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said any attack on Saudi Arabia could activate the Mecca Defence Alliance. He said he is unaware whether Riyadh has reached out to Islamabad, but reiterated that “we are bound to help or react according to the agreement. In a post on X, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he “condemns in the strongest possible terms the dastardly and heinous attempted drone attack against the Holy Site of Makkah Al-Mukarramah. Houthis, however, rejected Saudi’s claim that the group launched a drone towards the holy city of Mecca, calling the allegation “fabrications and lies” and asserting that its operations target Saudi military and oil facilities away from Islamic holy sites. Saree said Houthi operations were directed at “its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites.
