FO says attacks pose a serious ‘threat to regional peace, security and stability’
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: File
Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned drone attacks on the East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Madinah regions, reaffirming its support for the Kingdom’s sovereignty and security.
“Pakistan reaffirmed its support for Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and prosperity, and reiterated its solidarity with the country’s leadership, government and people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war. The world’s largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq.
The ministry, in a statement, “strongly condemns the reprehensible drone attacks” on the East-West Pipeline, saying that the attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure were “a flagrant violation of international law” as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia.
According to the ministry, the attacks also posed “a serious threat to regional peace, security and stability”.
It said Pakistan had been and would continue to make “earnest efforts for achieving lasting peace and stability in the region”.
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Pakistan Strongly Condemns Drone Attacks on Pipeline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) September 12, 2026
Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West oil pipeline
The Saudi Energy Ministry said on Friday that the pipeline had been targeted on Thursday morning by several drones in the Riyadh and Medina regions, prompting authorities to halt its operation as a precaution.
An official ministry source, cited by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said emergency and technical teams had begun securing the pipeline and checking its safety, adding that any further developments would be announced as they became available.
Read: Saudis shut down oil pipeline as Houthis tighten grip on Red Sea shipping
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the attack was carried out using several drones launched from Iraq and resulted in injuries and material damage.
What is the East-West pipeline?
The East-West pipeline, also known as Petroline, is one of Saudi Arabia’s most important crude oil transportation systems.
Operated by the state energy company Aramco, it stretches approximately 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from Abqaiq in the kingdom’s Eastern Province to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
The pipeline lies entirely within Saudi territory and does not cross another country’s borders.
Its strategic function, however, extends beyond domestic transportation. It carries crude from the kingdom’s main production and processing areas in the east to refineries, storage facilities and export terminals on its western coast.
This allows Saudi Arabia to move large quantities of crude to the Red Sea without shipping it through the Strait of Hormuz amid the current military conflict between the US and Iran.
The recent waves of escalation started after Houthis attacked the southern Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, injuring 73 people. In response, Saudi-led coalition aircraft carried out several airstrikes on Yemen’s western Al-Hudaydah province.
The latest attacks were not the first time the Houthis had targeted Saudi Arabia’s energy interests. On 23 July, the group said it had struck two Saudi oil tankers in what it described as part of a naval blockade against the kingdom.
The Houthis control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s key shipping routes linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, giving the group the ability to threaten vital maritime traffic.
Makkah Defence Pact
The recent Houthi attacks came at a time when Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye had just formalised their longstanding strategic ties through the signing of the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement”, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.
The agreement, signed during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, has prompted comparisons with military alliances such as NATO. However, according to security analysts, the pact is intended to formalise decades of existing strategic cooperation rather than create a new military bloc or offensive alliance.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said that there were no discussions about a military reaction under the Makkah Defence Agreement in response to the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying that Pakistan would act when the “time comes”.
“There is no such thing under discussion right now … When time comes (we) will act under the agreement,” Khan said in response to a question asking how Islamabad planned to fulfil its obligations under the joint defence accord signed with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The spokesperson further added that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was already in force and Islamabad would play its role in accordance with the requirements of the agreement, while stressing that no discussions were currently underway with any party on expanding the arrangement.
Khan said Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also had a bilateral defence agreement and were part of a trilateral arrangement involving Turkiye.
