Between the linesPakistan relies heavily on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf for foreign exchange, investment, energy support and financial assistance. That dependence cuts in Riyadh's favour on paper but works against a real Pakistani commitment in practice.

As per reports, Pakistan already has roughly 16 JF-17 fighters, air-defense units and thousands of troops stationed in Saudi Arabia under earlier bilateral arrangements, which lets Munir point to a visible Pakistani footprint in the kingdom without ever having to fire a shot at the Houthis. But Munir has good reasons to hedge that have nothing to do with sentiment toward Riyadh.

Pakistan shares a long, porous border with Iran and has its own security concerns there. The Houthis are an armed political and religious group from Yemen who have been locked in a long-running military conflict with the Saudi government.

Joining a campaign against the Houthis could turn Pakistan’s support for Riyadh into a confrontation with Iran and its partners. Pakistan also has a sizeable Shia population and may face domestic opposition if it intervenes directly in Saudi Arabia-Houthi fight.

There's also a Washington dimension complicating things. Munir has spent the past year cultivating Donald Trump.

With Trump having twice rejected Saudi requests for US strikes on the Houthis, Munir is unlikely to take a position that could put him at odds with the US president, especially on an issue where Trump has already made his position clear. The battlefield problemEven a willing Pakistan could not easily repair the military and political weaknesses exposed in Yemen.

The Houthis’ advance was enabled partly by divisions among their opponents. Saudi-backed forces failed to cooperate effectively during the offensive.

The withdrawal of the UAE also deprived the coalition of a capable supporter and deepened problems with southern factions. Additional Pakistani aircraft would not automatically resolve rival chains of command, competing territorial ambitions or distrust between local forces.

Would Pakistan be defending Saudi airspace, reopening shipping lanes, recovering territory or helping impose a settlement? Each objective entails different resources and risks.

The bottom line: MBS signed the Mecca Pact to buy himself military insurance against exactly the kind of Iranian-aligned assault now unfolding on his coastline. But Munir's incentives point toward mediating the Houthi crisis from Tehran's side of the table, not fighting it from Riyadh's, leaving Saudi Arabia's newest ally looking a lot more like a hedge than a rescue plan.

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