By Our Diplomatic Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have agreed to deploy military forces and capabilities rapidly in the kingdom, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday following an emergency meeting of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Riyadh.
The three countries held an emergency meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee (SPDC) of the Makkah Defence Alliance to address the security developments and threats facing Saudi Arabia, the FO statement said.
“The committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defence commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the parties, thereby enhancing readiness, military integration, and the collective capacity to confront and counter threats,” it added.
While the statement did not specifically name any threat, the development comes against the backdrop of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict.
In the Riyadh meeting, the three members of the Makkah Defence Alliance condemned “in the strongest terms” the attempted targeting of Makkah and Madina, as well as the continuing attacks targeting cities and civilian and economic facilities in the Saudi Arabia, reaffirming their “unequivocal rejection of any attack or threat against the kingdom’s security and territorial integrity”, the statement said.
For their part, Pakistan and Turkiye commended the “vigilance and readiness of the Saudi armed forces, as well as the professionalism and high level of competence they have demonstrated in countering the threats and attacks facing the kingdom and in safeguarding its security and territorial integrity”, the FO said.
The SPDC reviewed the outcomes of the political and military consultations preceding the meeting and approved the recommendations submitted to it, affirming that the Makkah pact embodied a firm commitment to collective defence and a unified position in confronting threats, it said.
Moreover, the three countries affirmed that the security of each member of the alliance was an “integral part of the collective security of the three countries, and that translating the Makkah Agreement for Joint Defence into practical measures demonstrates the credibility of the commitment to collective defence, strengthens the effectiveness of deterrence, and reaffirms the unity and determination of our three countries to defend their security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement”.
