Pakistan military says it will defend Saudi Arabia

Pakistan's military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the country would back Saudi Arabia “both diplomatically and physically” and would go to any extent to defend the kingdom and Islam's two holy sanctuaries.

Chaudhry made the comments in an interview with Arab News on Thursday as Saudi Arabia faced increased attacks from Yemen's Houthi forces.

Houthi forces this week reported fresh Saudi airstrikes. Riyadh accused the group of launching a “cowardly” attack targeting Mecca, prompting outrage from around the Muslim world.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey last month signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, committing the three countries to mutual defence if any of them is attacked. The pact came against the backdrop of war between the United States and Iran and attacks in the region from Tehran-backed Houthi forces.

A Turkish diplomat told AFP that Ankara had not received any official request from Saudi Arabia. The diplomat said Turkey had declared support for Saudi Arabia, but added that regional experience showed bombing “does not necessarily bring any results” and that talks between intelligence agencies were often more fruitful.

The diplomat said the three countries were working on mechanisms to underpin the agreement, including making their armed forces able to operate together, and that this would take time.