Pakistan, Turkiye join Saudi deterrence against Houthis: What that means

Islamabad says its role is defensive, but Riyadh’s offensive in Yemen tests how long it can stay out of the fight. Save Share Islamabad, Pakistan —For the first time since it was signed in August, theMecca pactbetween Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye is now in force. At an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday, the pact’stop committeeagreed to deploy Pakistani and Turkish forces to the kingdom as Saudi Arabia backsan offensiveagainst Yemen’s Houthis. “The Committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense 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,” said a joint statement shared by Pakistan’s Foreign Office. The statement did not specify the size or role of the forces. Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said100 fighter jetswere supporting a Yemeni government counteroffensive to retake territoryseized by the Houthislast month. Hours after the meeting, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistani forces were already playing a part. “The forces of Turkiye and Pakistan are playing a supporting role. We are definitely involved in reconnaissance and such things, but the combat is practically being conducted by Saudi Arabia’s own forces, and they are the ones retaking those areas,” Asif told Geo News, speaking from Riyadh on Monday night. That leaves Pakistan in a defensive role alongside a Saudi offensive. Analysts told Al Jazeera that it raises a question Islamabad has yet to answer publicly: How long it canstay outof the actual fighting? Pakistan’s military presence in Saudi Arabia is not new. It has trained Saudi military personnel since 1967, with a1982 agreementformalising the deputation of troops to the kingdom. A declassified CIA assessment from June 1985 estimated that 13,000 to 14,000 Pakistanis were serving in the Saudi army, including an armoured brigade at Tabuk. During the 1990-91 Gulf War, Pakistan also sent a large contingent to the kingdom for defensive duties. Pakistan also signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabiain September 2025, which treats aggression against either country as aggression against both....