Islamabad Calls NYT Report on PAF Jets Over Yemen 'Fake and Fabricated'

Pakistan's Information Ministry has rejected a New York Times report that Pakistan Air Force jets are flying combat missions against Yemen's Houthi movement on Saudi Arabia's behalf, calling the story "fake and fabricated" — while stopping short of directly addressing the specific claim about aircraft.

What the New York Times reported

The New York Times published its report on October 7, 2026, citing a senior Pakistani military official speaking on condition of anonymity, who told the paper that PAF jets were being used against the Yemeni rebel group. The ministry's fact-checking unit posted a screenshot of the story on X the following day, branding it false and pressing "international media houses" to "avoid speculative reporting with regards to employment of Pakistan's military forces under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement." It added that details of any deployment, "if necessary," would come from the authorities concerned — leaving the underlying question of what, exactly, Pakistani forces are doing in the Kingdom unresolved rather than closed.

A pattern of partial denials

This is not the first time Islamabad has pushed back on reporting about its military commitments to Saudi Arabia without fully clarifying them. The ministry earlier disputed a Reuters estimate that 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani troops had been committed under the trilateral pact, while insisting that Pakistan's commitment to the security of the Haramain Sharifain and the Kingdom was "non-negotiable." Days before the NYT story, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had already gone further on record than the ministry has — telling CNN that Pakistani forces are present in Saudi Arabia in "multiple capabilities," while declining to specify numbers or roles, as we reported at the time.

The agreement behind the ambiguity

The denials trace back to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a trilateral pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed in August that commits each country to collective defence if any one of them faces external armed attack. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have since agreed to immediately implement their collective defence commitments under the pact and ensure the "rapid deployment" of agreed military forces and capabilities inside the Kingdom, a step we covered separately. That followed weeks of Pakistan declining to confirm or deny a direct role against the Houthis even as Reuters reported Pakistani cargo flights of weapons to Yemen's Saudi-backed government in September, detailed in our earlier coverage.

Why the distinction matters

Pakistan's position has consistently drawn a line between supporting Saudi Arabia's defence — through troop deployments, logistics and matériel — and direct participation in offensive strikes inside Yemen. Confirming PAF jets flying missions against the Houthis would cross that line in a way Islamabad has so far avoided doing on record, even as it becomes harder to deny a substantial military footprint in the Kingdom altogether. The Houthis, for their part, have escalated attacks on Saudi targets in the same window, including strikes claimed against Riyadh's airport, which we covered separately — raising the stakes on exactly what role Pakistani forces are playing in the response.

Build Better Pakistan's Security Desk is tracking Pakistan's military commitments under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and will update this piece as officials clarify, or decline to clarify, the scope of PAF involvement.