Attacks on Saudi Arabia will trigger collective response, says military spokesperson

Pakistan is providing Saudi Arabia with necessary military support and is prepared to use all available means to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity and holy sites, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said, warning that attacks on the kingdom would trigger a collective response under the Makkah pact.

His remarks came as the three countries, bound with the Makkah agreement, faced their first major test of the pact’s collective defence commitments following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

“Pakistan has been trying to say this to all the parties that it is in no one’s interest that this military conflict spreads. We need to come to a negotiated outcome and if we are unable to come to a negotiated outcome and we turn in to a military conflict then this instrument of the collective deterrence of Makkah alliance will come into play as it is coming into play,” the military spokesperson said, in an interview with Independent Arabia.

He said Saudi Arabia’s security and the protection of Islam’s holiest sites were non-negotiable, adding that all necessary support was being provided and would continue.

He declined to disclose operational details, citing the need for confidentiality. “There’s an operational confidentiality. [Then,] there’s the tactical [and] sub-tactical details, which are never made public,” he said.

Asked whether Pakistan would provide direct military assistance to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, Ahmed said he was unsure whether Islamabad had received a formal request. He added that Pakistan would consider any such request and make an appropriate decision.

Makkah pact’s collective defence commitment

The DG ISPR described the development of the Makkah pact, involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, as exceptional, pointing to the establishment of its secretariat and a strategic political and defence committee comprising the three countries’ foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs.

He said the pact was built on longstanding ties, mutual trust and a shared vision of security, stability and collective deterrence.

The military spokesperson stressed that the arrangement was purely defensive and carried no offensive intent. “It is based on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognises the right of self-defence,” he said.

“If any party wages war, directly or indirectly, against any of the three countries, the response will be collective,” he maintained.

The official added that if deterrence failed to achieve its objectives, the three countries would need to reinforce it using all available means.

Pakistan expresses anger over attacks

Referring to attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and concerns over threats to Islam’s holy sites, the military spokesperson said the incidents had generated widespread anger in Pakistan, from the public to the country’s political and military leadership.

“Why anyone in his right mind would attack or threaten Saudi Arabia and the holy places or even give an impression of threatening the holy places,” he said, adding that there cannot be any ifs or buts on protection of the holy places.

He said escalating military conflicts or widening their scope would not serve the interests of Muslim countries and their people, stressing the importance of unity and diplomatic solutions.

However, he warned that if negotiations failed and the situation escalated into military confrontation, the Makkah pact’s collective deterrence mechanism would come into play.

Warning to attackers and their backers

Ahmed said Pakistan’s military deployments and statements demonstrated the seriousness of its defence commitments to Saudi Arabia.

He said the message was directed both at those carrying out attacks and those supporting them, reiterating that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to protect the kingdom’s security, territorial integrity and holy sites.

“Pakistan’s political-military leadership has for months been trying and interacting with the players who are involved in this conflict, including Iran, with the single intent of [advocating for exercising] restraint and to reduce the temperature and bring the parties to a negotiated peaceful outcome. So, our all interactions and conversations with the parties are based on dialing down the escalation,” he said.

To a query, he said: “Pakistan has been giving very strong signals that this collective deterrence is at play, has already been actualised and we will take all necessary steps for the security and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Harmain al-Sharifain holy places. So this message is going to anyone, whether he is in front [of the conflict] or behind that.”