Pakistan Confirms Troops In Saudi Arabia As Makkah Defence Pact Takes Effect

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said Pakistani forces were already present in Saudi Arabia with capabilities across multiple military domains. He said the deployment was rooted in the longstanding defence and security relationship between Islamabad and Riyadh.

Chaudhry said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in August, was built on those existing relationships. The agreement states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all three, a provision widely compared with NATO's collective-defence principle.

The pact moved toward practical implementation at an emergency meeting of its Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh on October 5. The three countries agreed to take measures for the rapid deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia, subject to their respective national laws and arrangements.

Reuters reported that Türkiye has begun providing Saudi Arabia with technical and defensive military support, including equipment, intelligence and air-defence capabilities, as Riyadh faces renewed attacks from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Pakistan and Türkiye have also provided military equipment supporting Saudi operations.

However, the precise scale and operational role of Pakistani forces in Saudi Arabia remain unclear. Chaudhry declined to provide details about troop numbers, equipment or whether Pakistani personnel could participate in operations against the Houthis inside Yemen, describing such information as confidential. Recent reporting has indicated that Pakistan's role is focused on defending Saudi territory and could include air defence, intelligence, surveillance, logistics and protection of critical infrastructure rather than ground operations inside Yemen.

The development marks a significant change from 2015, when Pakistan's parliament rejected a Saudi request for Pakistani forces to participate in the Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. Pakistan has since maintained close defence ties with Riyadh while seeking to avoid direct involvement in the Yemen conflict.

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