Foreign Office says Red Sea attack threatens maritime security as Islamabad continues diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned a Houthi attack on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea that killed three Pakistani nationals and injured another, describing the incident as a threat to international maritime security.

Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi said Pakistan considered the attack unfortunate and was closely monitoring developments. He stressed that Islamabad supported the free and safe movement of commercial vessels through international waters.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed condolences to the victims’ families and said attacks against non-combatant commercial vessels endangered innocent lives and violated international law.

Pakistan Seeks Details From Regional Authorities

Yemeni authorities said the attack killed six people, including Pakistani and Indonesian nationals. However, the Houthis had not immediately issued an official statement regarding the incident.

Dar said Pakistan remained in contact with Saudi authorities and Yemen’s internationally recognised government to establish further details surrounding the attack.

Furthermore, Andrabi said Pakistan continued engaging regional countries to help resolve the wider Gulf crisis through diplomacy.

Islamabad Backs Renewed Regional Negotiations

The spokesman said negotiations involving Iran and Oman were underway and Pakistan supported diplomatic initiatives aimed at reducing tensions.

Additionally, Islamabad remained optimistic that parties to the regional conflict would return to negotiations under the memorandum of understanding previously signed in Islamabad.

Andrabi confirmed that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had held discussions with Iranian officials during his visit to Tehran.

He also described the recently concluded Mecca defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as defensive and aimed at strengthening regional peace, stability and security.

Moreover, Andrabi said changes within Iran’s military leadership remained Tehran’s internal matter.

Pakistan was also closely following developments surrounding the US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement as regional diplomatic and security developments continued to unfold.