Pakistan has strongly condemned the "reprehensible" drone attacks on the East-West oil pipeline in Riyadh and Madina regions of Saudi Arabia, causing damage to the pipeline and injuries to civilians. "These attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure are a flagrant violation of international law as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and pose a serious threat to regional peace, security and stability," the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West pipeline after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher. The world's largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq. Iraq dismissed a military commander on Saturday in response to the attack.

The 1,200km pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula had helped Saudi Arabia to bypass a shipping logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed to a trickle due to the six-month war between the US and Iran. In the statement, the FO said Pakistan reaffirmed its unwavering support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and prosperity of the kingdom, and reiterated its solidarity with the leadership, government and brotherly people of Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan has been and will continue to make earnest efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region, it added. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Madina. The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said without detailing the impact on exports.