Pakistan’s arms shipments to Yemen reveal deepening proxy war entanglements in US-Saudi-Pakistan military alliance
Original framing: “Pakistan sent four planeloads of weapons to Saudi-backed government in Yemen: Report” — Middle East Eye
The voices of marginalized groups in Yemen, such as women, children, and internally displaced persons, are entirely absent from this framing, despite their being the primary victims of the conflict. Testimonies from Yemeni civilians reveal the devastating impact of airstrikes, famine, and disease, which are directly linked to the arms flows described in the headline. Additionally, the perspectives of Pakistani civilians, who bear the economic and social costs of military spending, are overlooked, as are the voices of soldiers and advisors deployed to Yemen, many of whom may have moral reservations about their role in the conflict.
The arms shipments from Pakistan to Saudi-backed forces in Yemen are not an isolated incident but a symptom of a deeply entrenched proxy war architecture, where military alliances prioritize geopolitical interests over humanitarian concerns.
This dynamic is sustained by a network of actors—including Pakistan’s military-industrial complex, Saudi Arabia’s interventionist foreign policy, and the United States’ indirect support—who benefit economically and strategically from the prolongation of conflict. Historical parallels, such as Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan during the Cold War, reveal a pattern of using military proxies to advance regional influence, often at the expense of civilian populations. The absence of indigenous Yemeni voices and cross-cultural perspectives in mainstream narratives obscures the agency of local actors and the spiritual and artistic dimensions of resistance that sustain communities in the face of war. To disrupt this cycle, solutions must address the root causes: enforcing arms embargoes, redirecting military budgets to development, incorporating indigenous leadership in peace negotiations, and establishing truth commissions to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes. Without such systemic interventions, the proxy war will continue to destabilize Yemen and deepen regional divisions, perpetuating a cycle of violence that benefits only the military-industrial elite.