Pakistan and Turkey to Rapidly Deploy Forces to Saudi Arabia Under Makkah Pact as Houthi Attacks Mount
Emergency Riyadh meeting moves the three-nation defence alliance from political pledges to practical military steps
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File photo: A Royal Saudi Land Forces tank crew moves into position during Exercise Eager Lion in Jordan, September 2022. Photo: Sgt. Anthony Prater, U.S. Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have agreed to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities in the kingdom, moving their new Makkah defence alliance from political pledges to practical steps as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensify.
The decision came on Monday at an emergency meeting in Riyadh of the alliance's Strategic Political and Defence Committee, according to a joint statement reported by AFP and a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Office.
What the three countries agreed
"The committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defence commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the parties, thereby enhancing readiness, military integration, and the collective capacity to confront and counter threats," Pakistan's Foreign Office said, according to Dawn.
The statement did not say how many troops would be sent, which units were involved or when they would arrive.
Pakistan's delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, the Foreign Office said.
According to Saudi outlet Ajel, the member states strongly condemned attempts to target Makkah and Madinah, as well as continued attacks on Saudi cities and civilian and economic facilities. Ajel also reported that retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood of Pakistan was named the alliance's first secretary-general for a three-year term.
A kingdom under growing pressure
The move comes a day after Yemen's Saudi-backed government launched a major offensive to retake territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis. Over the weekend, the Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out dozens of strikes on Sanaa, after which they claimed to have attacked an Aramco facility south of Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones.
On Monday evening, an AFP journalist and residents reported loud explosions in northern Riyadh. The US Mission in Saudi Arabia urged American citizens to remain vigilant and follow alerts from Saudi Civil Defense, Gulf News reported.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres "condemns the continued Houthi cross-border attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.
From pledge to deployment
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on 7 August by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It states that an armed attack on any of the three countries is an attack on all of them.
It was signed after Gulf states came under Iranian missile and drone fire during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Monday's decision is the alliance's most concrete military step so far.
