Pakistan says Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia could trigger Mecca Defense Alliance

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Tuesday that attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia could trigger the Mecca Defense Alliance, a tripartite collective defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.

“Under the trilateral agreement, any aggression against any of the three [countries] is regarded as an aggression against all. There is no ambiguity about that,” Asif told Geo News.

The Pakistani defense minister said that unprovoked aggression or a spillover of the conflict in Yemen into Saudi Arabia “will definitely” operationalize the alliance.

“There should be no doubt about it. We are bound by the terms and conditions of this pact, and we will honor them in case there is a need,” he added.

The Houthis launched a wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks on southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, targeting civilian and energy sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran and wounding 73 civilians.

Saudi Arabia has described the attacks as a dangerous escalation and said it reserves the right to take all necessary measures to defend its territory, citizens and national infrastructure.

Asif said, however, that Islamabad hoped the situation would be brought under control and eventually subside.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey on August 7, establishes a collective defense framework under which an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all three. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has compared its collective defense provision to NATO’s Article 5.

The alliance took its first institutional steps on August 31, when the three countries’ foreign and defense ministers and military chiefs met in Istanbul for the inaugural meeting of its Strategic Political and Defense Committee.