Pakistani forces already stationed in Saudi Arabia, says DG ISPR

Pakistani military personnel are already deployed in Saudi Arabia in several capacities, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday.

Speaking to CNN’s Becky Anderson, the military spokesperson was asked whether troops had been sent to the kingdom under the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. He said Pakistani soldiers have been present there “for decades.”

Lt Gen Chaudhry said the trilateral alliance among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye builds on longstanding diplomatic, political, military and public ties between the three countries.

He added that Pakistani forces with a range of capabilities, across different domains, are already in the kingdom.

His comments follow a decision by the three countries, days earlier, to put their collective defence commitments into effect immediately and to deploy agreed military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia quickly.

According to the Foreign Office, that decision was taken in Riyadh at the inaugural meeting of the alliance’s Strategic Political and Defence Committee, which brought together senior political and military leaders from all three states.

The partners said deployments would follow approved arrangements and each country’s national laws, with the goal of improving readiness, military integration and joint capacity.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. The pact treats an armed attack on any one member as an attack on all three.