Saudi Arabia gets security backing from Pakistan, Turkiye amid Houthi attacks

• Defence chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye reaffirmed their commitment to collectively defend Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

• The trilateral pact treats an armed attack on any one of the three countries as an attack on all, with the officials discussing intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration.

• The Riyadh meeting followed talks between the three countries’ foreign ministers in New York and came days after Pakistan appointed former Lt-Gen. Nauman Mahmood as the alliance’s first secretary-general.

Top defence officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye have reaffirmed their commitment to collectively defend the Gulf kingdom under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, amid recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Pakistan Army said on Saturday, 26 September.

The trilateral defence pact, signed by the three countries last month, establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the countries would be treated as an attack against all.

The chiefs of defence forces and chiefs of general staff of the three countries met in Riyadh on Friday to review the security situation and threats facing Saudi Arabia, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Army.

'The participants strongly affirmed their commitment to collective defence, thereby demonstrating the resolve of the three countries in defending the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia,' the statement said.

The officials also condemned attacks targeting the holy city of Makkah, as well as civilian and economic infrastructure, while praising the 'vigilance and professionalism' of the Saudi armed forces, it said.

They discussed ways to deepen cooperation among the three countries' armed forces, including enhanced intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration.

The meeting in Riyadh reflected the strength of the three countries' defence partnership and their shared determination to translate the commitments under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement into effective military cooperation, according to the Pakistan Army.

The meeting came a day after the foreign ministers of the three countries met in New York to discuss the security challenges facing Saudi Arabia.

On 23 September, Pakistan appointed former Lt-Gen. Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary-general of the trilateral alliance.

With PTI inputs