Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to Saudi Arabia's security. In Islamabad he said Pakistan would protect the kingdom's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He was speaking with retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood, the newly appointed secretary-general of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. Dawn reported that Saudi Arabia has faced escalating tensions with Yemen's Houthi rebels in recent days.
Mahmood is the first secretary-general of the alliance that brings together Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. He was appointed in September and visited Sharif to set out the work ahead. Sharif wished him well, described the agreement as a "historic milestone for peace, unity and stability in the region", and said Pakistan "stands shoulder to shoulder" with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding sovereignty, defence and regional security.
What the three countries signed
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. In that text, an armed attack aimed at a single signatory is to count as an attack aimed at Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye together. Mahmood briefed Sharif on the strategy to promote "defence and strategic cooperation" under this Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye defence pact. Sharif cast the agreement as a step toward peace, unity and stability, and put Pakistan publicly at Saudi Arabia's side.
For a Pakistani reader, that shared rule is the heart of the text. When an armed attack falls inside the agreement, all three countries are to count it as an attack on each of them. The meeting kept to this rule and to Mahmood's briefing on how the cooperation should proceed.
Tuesday's strikes, and damage in Riyadh
Dawn reported that the Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers since a truce in their war with Yemen's coalition government unravelled in July. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, targeting fuel and energy facilities it said were being used to support missile and drone attacks. The Yemeni group threatened a harsh and painful response against Saudi airports, refineries and oil installations.
Hours later, Saudi authorities warned of possible hostile aerial threats in the Eastern Province and in Riyadh. Witnesses heard loud explosions near Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran, and a Saudi energy ministry official confirmed the attack. Civil defence said four people, two women, a man and a child, were wounded by debris from two intercepted Houthi cruise missiles in the capital, and that 15 homes were damaged.
Sharif's restatement on Saudi Arabia's security was made against that background. Pakistan has set out its stance again, with the August agreement as the text that tells the three governments how an armed attack on one of them is to be read.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- August 7: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. An armed attack on one member counts as an attack on all three.
- September: Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was appointed the alliance's first secretary-general.
- July: A truce in the Houthis' war with Yemen's coalition government unravelled, Dawn reported, and the Houthis have since repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers.
- Tuesday: Saudi Arabia struck Houthi-controlled fuel and energy sites in Yemen. Explosions were heard near Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran. Civil defence said four people were wounded in Riyadh by debris from two intercepted cruise missiles, and 15 homes were damaged.
- Wednesday: In Islamabad, Sharif met Mahmood and reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the kingdom's sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Wednesday ko Wazir-e-Azam Shehbaz Sharif ne Saudi Arabia ki hifazat ka wada dobara kiya. Unhon ne kaha ke Pakistan Saudi Arabia ke saath kandhe se kandha mila kar khara hai. 7 August ko Pakistan, Saudi Arabia aur Turkiye ne jo defence agreement kiya, us ke mutabiq ek mulk par hamla teeno par hamla samjha jayega. Mangal ko Saudi Arabia ne Yemen ke Houthi ilaqon par hamle kiye. Dhahran mein Aramco ke headquarter ke qareeb dhamake sune gaye. Civil defence ke mutabiq Riyadh mein do cruise missiles ke debris se char log zakhmi hue aur 15 ghar nuqsan mein aaye.
