THE very use of Houthis against Saudi Arabia raises several questions about intents and designs of their backers but the proxy group has crossed all red lines by targeting two of the holiest places of Islam on the earth. About two weeks back, the Kingdom intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone targeted at Makkah Mukarramah and now a power station in Madina Munawwara has been attacked, triggering prompt and strong condemnation of the dastardly act by the entire Muslim Ummah.
Not to speak of targeting weapons against the two holiest cities, no Muslim worth the name can even harbor any ill-will against these places for understandable reasons. Houthis are denying their involvement in the attacks, which, otherwise constitute grave crimes but Saudi Coalition has stated that the findings of investigations and inquiries conducted by the relevant authorities, based on an operational review and the debris of the drone used, established the involvement of the terrorist Houthi militia in planning and carrying out the latest cowardly terrorist act in Madinah. This attack together with earlier drone targeted at Makkah reinforces the Houthis’ pattern of attempting to target the Two Holy Mosques and deliberately provoking the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world by targeting Makkah and Madinah. It is crystal clear that the militia wants to spread panic among Muslims by creating security threats for the two cities. This amounts to testing the patience of the Muslim world and it is time a robust collective operation is carried out against terrorists involved in desecration of the holy sites and trying to create uncertainty.
No doubt, the official spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has vowed to take “necessary measures” against Yemen’s Houthi rebels and ensure the protection of the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah and safety of pilgrims and visitors. There should be no doubt they have the courage, determination and means to do so but it is also the responsibility of the entire Muslim world to strengthen the hands of Saudis in warding off threats to the holy places. There are reasons to believe that the indirect war against Saudi Arabia is aimed at harming its economic and commercial interests and put it under pressure for its firm principled stand on regional issues and the emerging situation. The game plan becomes clear from the stand taken by Houthis who says they pose no threat to international shipping but reiterated that they would target vessels from Saudi Arabia, which has relied on the Red Sea for oil exports since the US and Israel’s war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. There is a big question mark as to who supplies sophisticated weapons to Houthis and for what. There is a legitimate impression that the war against Saudi Arabia is part of the conspiracy to realize the nefarious designs of Greater Israel and those backing Houthis, in any way, are directly or indirectly helping the Jewish State to fulfill its plans against the Muslim world in general and the Arab world in particular. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has aptly pointed out that heinous drone attacks by the Houthis on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah constitute violation of the sanctity of holy sites and mosques.
This is sheer terrorism and contrary to Islamic belief and values as well as international norms and laws. Otherwise too, Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam and custodian of the two holy places, therefore, sentiments and passions of Muslims around the world for the Kingdom are understandable. It is particularly so for people of Pakistan as the KSA throughout stood firmly behind Pakistan whenever the need arose. Pakistan and Turkiye are bound to provide meaningful assistance to the Saudis at this critical juncture of their history and it is time to operationalize the recently concluded tri-partite defence accord. Houthis stands isolated regionally and internationally but time has come this threat is addressed once for all. Pakistan Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, has declared in unequivocal terms that the country is there to help Saudi Arabia in any conflict, whether it is coming from the Houthis or a country or any other outfit that threatens the Kingdom’s security. We hope other close friends and allies of Saudi Arabia will also adopt an unambiguous stand to convey the right kind of message to conspirators.
