Mecca Pact Activated

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye have agreed to implement their collective defence commitments and deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia. This decision was made in response to attacks by Yemen's Houthi group against the kingdom.

The agreement was reached during an emergency meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee under the Mecca Alliance in Riyadh. The committee decided to trigger the deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, Khalid bin Salman, said the member countries agreed to deploy troops in response to the Houthi attacks. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated that the countries will provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment to the kingdom.

The Mecca Defence Alliance was formed in August to respond to intensifying regional conflicts. The alliance declares that an attack on any one of the three states will be treated as an attack on all.

The defence commitments will be executed under approved arrangements and the laws of the three countries. The joint statement reads that the committee agreed to move immediately to implement the collective defence measures.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud attended the emergency meeting in Riyadh.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has launched a counteroffensive to push the Iran-aligned Houthis back from territory captured last month. The Mecca Alliance's decision to deploy troops is a response to the increasing hostilities in Yemen.