Pakistan says no military response discussed under Makkah pact over Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Pakistan said on Thursday that there were no discussions about a military reaction ​from Islamabad under the Makkah agreement in response to ‌the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, but added that Pakistan would act when the “time comes”.

“There is no such thing under discussion right ​now … When time comes (we) will act under the agreement,” ​Foreign Office Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said ⁠at a weekly media briefing, in response to a question ​asking how Islamabad planned to fulfill its obligations under the ​joint defence accord signed with Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.

The joint defence agreement signed last month stipulates that an armed attack on any one of ​the three countries will be regarded as an attack ​on all of them.

The question arose after Iran-backed Houthis struck Saudi cities ‌and energy ⁠infrastructure this week, continuing attacks that by Thursday had become a second theatre of war in the Middle East.

Reuters reported that Islamabad has warned Iran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies ​after they stepped ​up attacks ⁠on Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan, which has also been mediating the conflict between the US and Iran, ​condemned these attacks but provided no details on ​how ⁠it might respond under the terms of its defence pact.

The Makkah agreement, signed between Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia last month, is a “defensive alliance” and there are no plans to expand it at the moment, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in response to another question while briefing on how Pakistan plans to fulfill its obligations under the accord after Saudi Arabia was attacked by the Houthis.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye. This pact commits the three nations to strengthen collective security, treating an armed attack against any one as an attack against all, similar to NATO’s Article 5.

Leaders have on different occasions reaffirmed its purely defensive nature, stating it is not targeted against any specific country, and aimed at promoting regional peace, stability, and deterrence. The agreement provides for enhanced defence cooperation across all areas, including joint military exercises, defence information exchange, and defence industry collaboration. A permanent secretariat will be established in Saudi Arabia, with Pakistan providing the first secretary general for a three-year term.

A day ago, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could become operational if the ongoing conflict in Yemen spilled over into Saudi Arabia.

Speaking in a TV interview, Asif said the agreement was a collective defence arrangement under which aggression against one member would be treated as aggression against all three.

“There should be no doubt” that the pact would become operational in case of unprovoked aggression or a spillover of the Yemen conflict into Saudi Arabia, he said.

Asif said Pakistan was bound by the agreement and would honour its commitments if the need arose, stressing that the pact was intended for joint defence and collective assistance rather than aggression.