Pakistan, Sept. 11 -- On Thursday, the Foreign Office gave the Makkah pact a far clearer public definition, saying Pakistan was not discussing a military response to the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia "right now."

Pakistan would act "when the time comes."

That reserves the decision for Islamabad rather than handing it to the next militia commander who fires a missile.

Riyadh has every reason to look to Islamabad with confidence. The Makkah pledge rests on a relationship built over decades and an attack on Saudi territory cannot be treated as somebody else's problem. The strikes on Khamis Mushait and nearby infrastructure, which wounded 73 people, made that plain. Pakistan's promise is firm, but its form will be decided in Islamabad. It...