This study explores pragmatic competence as a factor influencing the reading comprehension of Saudi university EFL students. It also emphasizes that contextual interpretation plays an important role in retrieving hidden meanings, cultural references, and socio-platonic cues. It followed a mixed-methods design involving a reading pre-posttest and focus groups. Participants were randomly assigned into an experimental group of forty-two students, and a control group of thirty-eight students. Whereas the control group received traditional reading instruction, the students in the experimental group received explicit pragmatic instruction by means of reading comprehension activities. In the experimental group, the test quantitative results indicated statistically significant improvements in the students' ability to uncover implicit meanings and navigate across cultural references, highlighting the potential of pragmatic-focused instruction. Qualitative results obtained from the focus groups highlighted enhanced interpretive strategies, increased cultural awareness, and elevated learner confidence. It is concluded that reading comprehension instruction should be connected to the situational and cultural factors of language use. The study offers pedagogical insights for developing holistic instructional approaches, emphasizing the necessity of integrating pragmatics to foster higher-order comprehension skills among EFL learners.