Pakistan’s newly signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye is facing its first major test after a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The pact provides for collective defence, with an attack on one member to be treated as an attack on all.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said continued aggression against Saudi Arabia could make the agreement operational.
However, Pakistan’s Foreign Office later clarified that no military response under the pact was currently being discussed. Islamabad said the agreement is still being developed and that Pakistani troops already in Saudi Arabia are deployed for training and logistical purposes under separate bilateral arrangements.
The Foreign Office also described the Makkah pact as a defensive arrangement focused on deterrence, while Pakistan continues to call for peace and stability in Yemen.
