RIYADH/ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Houthis in Yemen, with options being considered including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts, regional and Western officials told Reuters.

The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will be led by Yemeni forces on the ground, which are overseen by Riyadh, and supported by Saudi air strikes, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations.

The Saudi allies aren`t expected to play a direct role in the planned Saudi offensive, which will be aimed at reversing the rapid gains made by the Houthis when they advanced down the coast and seized control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, according to the people with knowledge of the plans who include Gulf and Yemeni officials and Western diplomats.

The Saudis are considering two possible options for the assault, the Gulf and Yemeni officials said: Either a narrowly focused attack on the area around Bab al-Mandeb or a broaderoffensive that also includes other synchronised attacks on multiple fronts around Yemen, in the governorates of Al-Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al-Jawf.

More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilised in the offensive, depending on the scale, the officials all said.

The six people with knowledge of the Saudi preparations couldn`t give a precise timing for the launch of the offensive, with their estimates ranging from within a week to until after the US midterm elections in early November.

Condemnation, denial On Friday, Pakistan`s civil and military leadership strongly condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia, following the Saudi-led coalition`s claim that Yemen`s Houthis-led Ansarallah forces struck an electricity distribution station in the holy city of Madina.

Similar condemnations came from Turkiye, Qatar, Egypt and the League of Arab States, which stated that the attack `provokes the sentiments of Muslims worldwide`.

The Saudi-led coalition claimed a drone struck Madina`s Taibah elec-tricity distribution station, which provides power to the Holy Prophet`s (PBUH) Mosque, as the Houthis-led Ansarallah forces denied their involvement in the attack.

A senior Houthi official once again rejected the accusations about targeting any holy site in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh meeting Addressing a press briefing in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan`s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Haramain Sharifain by Houthis are `absolutely unacceptable`.

He said an emergency meeting of the Strategic Political Defence Committee [SPDC] formed under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement [MJDA] between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye would be held in Riyadh next week to review Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

He said the upcoming session was an emergency meeting, while a regular meeting was scheduled for late October or early November to complete pending work.

The pact provides that an attack against one member is treated as an attack against all.

Expansion According to Mr Dar, the SPDC comprises nine members the foreign ministers, defence ministers and army chiefs of the three countries. He said at least six more countries had expressed interest in joining them, but the expansion could only be con-sidered after the agreement became fully operational, which would take at least a year.

Its first meeting was held in Istanbul on Aug 31, where it was decided that the secretariat would be headed by Pakistan for an initial period of three years. The foreign ministers then met in New York on Sept 24 in the wake of increased Houthi attacks, followed by a special meeting of the three army chiefs in Riyadh on Sept 25. However, Mr Dar said, the situation on the ground had prompted fresh consultations.`The full meeting of the SPDC will soon be held in Riyadh, and the current ground realities, particularly the situation in Saudi Arabia, will be examined under the Makkah Accord,` he said.

Responding to questions, Mr Dar said he had spoken to Iran at length and reminded Tehran of Pakistan`s commitments under the trilateral agreement. Iran, he said, denied any association with the Houthis and Iraqi militia but suggested that the Houthis be `engaged politically rather thanthrough kinetic action`. The suggestion, he clarified, came up during a discussion between the two foreign ministers in good faith, but a final decision would be taken jointly by the three SPDC members.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said the reprehensible attack, took place on Sept 29, against civilian infrastructure supplying electricity to the Holy Prophet`s (PBUH) Mosque was a grave provocation and that the sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques and the safety of wor-shippers and pilgrims must be respected under all circumstances. `We call for an immediate and unconditional end of such reckless actions that also constitute a grave threat to regional peace and security.

Also, the Corps Commander Conference in its meeting on Friday `strongly resented Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, expressed solidarity with the kingdom and affirmed Pakistan`s commitment to the security and sanctity of the Haramain Sharifain