ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday regional initiatives, particularly those led by Saudi Arabia and Oman, were critical for advancing peace in Yemen, which has been wracked by civil war since 2014.

Since October 2023, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement has been involved in disruptions to commercial ship traffic through the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important shipping routes that connects Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Over 12 percent of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea. The United States and United Kingdom have responded to the attacks and many ships are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. The US State Department said this week it was designating the Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization” after President Donald Trump’s call for the move earlier this year.

The violence is unfolding against the backdrop of a larger civil war in Yemen that began in 2014 when the Houthis took the capital Sana’a. Since then, the ensuing violent conflict has taken a devastating toll on Yemen’s people. More than 17 million people – half the country’s population – remain dependent on humanitarian assistance and protection.

Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that political dialogue in Yemen had to be restarted and “decisive steps” taken to address the multidimensional crisis the impoverished Arab country was facing.

“The international community must act with urgency to prevent further deterioration of the crisis and pave the way for a future of stability and hope for Yemen,” Akram said. “We reaffirm our full support for the UN-led peace process and stress the need for an inclusive, comprehensive and sustainable resolution of the conflict.”

In this regard, regional initiatives, particularly those led by Saudi Arabia and Oman, remained critical in advancing these negotiations, the Pakistani envoy added.

“As we observe the holy month of Ramzan, millions in Yemen continue to endure extreme hardship,” Akram said, with 19.5 million people requiring urgent humanitarian assistance, including 17.1 million facing acute food insecurity. 4.5 million internally displaced, and 12 million children lacking access to basic necessities such as food, water, shelter and health care.

The Pakistani envoy regretted “deeply” the sudden cutting off of humanitarian aid in Yemen, and called for filling the gap by the international community and donor countries, hoping they would step up their contributions to the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen .