Pakistan is giving Saudi Arabia military support, says DG ISPR: any attack will trigger 'collective response'
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the security of Saudi Arabia and the holy sites is 'non-negotiable' as Houthi attacks on the kingdom escalate. The new Makkah alliance of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye faces its first test.
At a glance
- DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan is providing Saudi Arabia with 'necessary military support' and is prepared to use all available means; details were withheld for operational reasons.
- He said any direct or indirect attack on a member of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement — Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye — will trigger a collective response.
- He called the pact purely defensive under Article 51 of the UN Charter and urged continued diplomacy with Iran.
- Field Marshal Asim Munir met Saudi Arabia's new ambassador, Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy, in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Pakistan's military has said it is already giving Saudi Arabia military support as Yemen's Houthis step up attacks on the kingdom. In an interview released on Monday, October 19, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said the security of Saudi Arabia and the two holy mosques is "non-negotiable", and warned that any attack on a member of the new Makkah alliance would bring a collective response.
What the DG ISPR said
| Topic | Position |
|---|---|
| Support to Saudi Arabia | Pakistan is providing "necessary military support" and is "prepared to employ all available means"; details withheld for operational secrecy |
| Holy sites | Security of the Haramain is "non-negotiable and non-compromise" |
| Makkah alliance | Purely defensive, based on Article 51 of the UN Charter; open to other countries |
| Collective response | Any direct or indirect attack on any of the three members will be answered collectively |
| Iran | Diplomacy must continue; he neither confirmed nor denied a direct warning to Tehran |
| Yemen | Pakistan will review any formal request for help from Yemen's government |
"If any party wages war, directly or indirectly, against any of the three countries, the response will be collective," he said. He added that widening the Middle East conflict serves no one and that a negotiated settlement is essential — but if diplomacy fails, the alliance's deterrence would be activated.
The Makkah alliance
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement links Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. It was set up in August and already has:
- a General Secretariat;
- a Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the three countries' foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs.
Chaudhry described the alliance's growth as "phenomenal" and said its structures are working on the ground. The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are its first practical test. He stressed that Pakistan's military ties with Saudi Arabia go back decades, long before the pact.
Meeting with the new Saudi ambassador
On Monday, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir received Saudi Arabia's newly appointed ambassador, Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy, in Rawalpindi. They discussed regional security, expressed satisfaction with progress under the Makkah agreement and agreed to deepen defence cooperation and strategic coordination.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia
The statements come after a sharp escalation by the Houthis:
- strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people;
- the Houthis claim attacks on Saudi Aramco's Yanbu facility, the Shaybah oilfield and Abha airport, which Saudi Arabia has not confirmed;
- a Houthi projectile hit a residential area of Najran on Sunday, injuring six people, according to Saudi civil defence;
- on Monday, a Houthi missile strike on a government training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province killed at least 53 recruits.
Threats to the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, have caused deep anger in Pakistan.
Why it matters
- For Pakistan: more than two million Pakistanis live and work in Saudi Arabia, and their remittances are a lifeline for the economy. Saudi Arabia is also one of Pakistan's most important financial backers.
- For the region: a formal collective-defence pact involving a nuclear-armed Pakistan and NATO member Türkiye raises the stakes of the Houthi–Saudi conflict and of tensions with Iran, Pakistan's neighbour.
- For oil prices: attacks on Saudi energy sites, alongside disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, are keeping Brent crude near $110 a barrel — which feeds into Pakistan's petrol prices.
What happens next
Pakistan has not said what form its support takes. Watch for further meetings of the alliance's defence committee, any request from Yemen's government, and whether diplomatic efforts with Iran can cool the escalating conflict.
Questions people are asking
What is the Makkah alliance?
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement is a defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. It has a secretariat and a committee of the three countries' foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs, and treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
Is Pakistan sending troops to Saudi Arabia?
The DG ISPR said Pakistan is providing Saudi Arabia with the military support it needs but did not give details, citing operational secrecy. Pakistan has cooperated militarily with Saudi Arabia for decades.
Will Pakistan help Yemen's government against the Houthis?
The DG ISPR said he did not know whether Yemen's internationally recognised government had sent a formal request, but that Pakistan would review any request and decide on it.
