Pakistani Jets Reportedly Joining Strikes on Houthis, NYT Says

If you’ve been following the drone and missile attacks hitting Saudi airports over the past week, here’s the next layer of this story: Pakistan may now be flying combat missions against the group behind them.

According to The New York Times, a senior Pakistani military official says Pakistani fighter jets are taking part in strikes against Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

This isn’t yet an independently confirmed fact, and it’s worth being careful here: Pakistan has repeatedly described its forces in Saudi Arabia as being there in a defensive capacity. But if the report holds up, it marks a real shift in how deep Pakistan is getting pulled into this conflict.

So what exactly is Pakistan doing in Saudi Arabia?

Pakistan has confirmed its forces are deployed in Saudi Arabia under its defence arrangements with Riyadh, though it hasn’t spelled out every detail of what those forces are doing day to day.

Reuters had previously reported the scale of this deployment: about 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets, and an HQ-9 air-defence system. Sources told Reuters the aircraft involved number around 16, mostly JF-17 fighters, which Pakistan builds jointly with China.

Col. David O. Smith, a former US Army attaché in Pakistan and a former senior analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency, told The New York Times that the Pakistani contingent includes both Air Force personnel and Army air-defence units. He estimated the troop numbers at around 8,000 and said their main job would likely be protecting Saudi oil facilities and other critical infrastructure, not fighting inside Yemen.

Smith also said he doesn’t expect Pakistani troops to take part in direct ground combat against the Houthis. Part of the reasoning, he said, is that Islamabad wants to keep its relationship with Iran intact, something that would be harder to manage if Pakistani forces were seen fighting Iran’s allies on the ground.

Why would Pakistan fly strike missions but avoid ground combat?

The second Pakistani official quoted by The New York Times drew that same line: Islamabad’s role is expected to centre on countering Houthi drones and missiles through air support, rather than sending troops into Yemen itself.

That distinction matters. Air defence and intercept missions can be framed as protective, aimed at stopping attacks before they land on Saudi soil. A ground offensive inside Yemen is a different kind of commitment, one that pulls Pakistan more directly into a war it has tried to stay at arm’s length from.

Turkey and Pakistan’s wider defence pact with Saudi Arabia was activated as Houthi attacks escalated, and this reported air involvement looks like one of the first visible pieces of that arrangement in action.

What’s happening on the ground in Yemen right now

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces are currently running a major offensive against the Houthis around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints. Saudi aircraft are supporting that operation from the air.

This comes on top of a string of Houthi attacks on Saudi airports that we’ve been covering, including strikes that killed three people and injured 36, and a US warning to citizens in Saudi Arabia over further airport threats.

What this means if you’re in Kuwait

For people living here, this is mostly background noise for now, nothing that changes daily life in Kuwait directly. But it’s part of a fast-moving regional picture: more countries’ militaries getting involved in the Red Sea and Gulf security situation, more air defence systems moving around the region, and more uncertainty around flight paths and airports in Saudi Arabia.

If you travel through Saudi airports regularly, or have family flying in and out of them, it’s worth keeping an eye on official advisories rather than assuming things are back to normal.

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