A senior officer from Pakistan’s military has pledged that his country will defend Saudi Arabia against aggression “to any extent”.
asserted
country → pledge → extent
Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director-general of the Pakistani military’s media wing, told the Saudi newspaper Arab News on Thursday that Islamabad stands with Saudi Arabia diplomatically and physically.
asserted
Islamabad → tell → Arabia
The promise comes as questions swirl about the stance of Pakistan and Turkiye – both of which signed defence pacts with Riyadh recently – as Yemen’s Houthis intensify their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
asserted
Houthis → come → Arabia
“I would like to underscore here the word ‘physically’,” Chaudhry said.
asserted
Chaudhry → like → word
“We will go to any extent.”
asserted
We → go → extent
Pakistani forces are already deployed to protect the kingdom and Islam’s two holiest sites, in Mecca and Medina, he added.
asserted
he → deploy → Mecca
“We are there to protect them, and we will go to any extent further as required by the Saudi leadership and the people of Saudi Arabia.
asserted
we → protect → Arabia
However, he did not say whether Riyadh had requested more Pakistani troops or direct involvement against the Houthis.
asserted
Riyadh → say → Houthis
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, signed by Riyadh and Islamabad in September 2025, says that aggression committed against either country would be regarded as an attack on both.
asserted
aggression → sign → both
Invoking this bilateral agreement, Pakistan deployed fighter and support aircraft to Saudi’s King Abdulaziz Air Base in April, after the kingdom came under attack by Iran and its allies.
asserted
kingdom → invoke → Iran
Alongside Turkiye, the pair then signed off on a mutual defence pact as part of the Mecca Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement last month.
asserted
pair → sign → Agreement
However, the pact has yet to be made operational.
asserted
pact → have → ?
Unprovoked aggression against Saudi Arabia, or a spillover of the Yemen conflict into the kingdom, would trigger the pact, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said earlier this month, but he did not share specific details.
asserted
he → trigger → details
While neither agreement’s full operational provisions have been made public, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the Mecca pact works like NATO’s collective defence clause, with the country under attack requesting help from its treaty allies.
asserted
country → make → allies
However, Pakistan and Turkiye are also anxious to remain mediators in the conflicts roiling the Middle East, and are therefore believed to be unenthusiastic about direct involvement in hostilities.
asserted
Pakistan → remain → hostilities
Chaudhry also stressed that Pakistan continues to work with regional partners towards “a negotiated, peaceful outcome” to the regional crisis triggered by the United States and Israel war on Iran.
asserted
Pakistan → stress → Iran
Escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group are putting these pacts to the test.
asserted
attacks → escalate → test
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said last week that no military response was under discussion under the agreement at the moment, adding that Islamabad would act “when time comes”.
asserted
time → say → moment
Earlier this week, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted a Houthi drone heading towards Mecca, inflaming religious sentiments and drawing a fiery condemnation from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
asserted
it → lead → Sharif
On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi denied targeting the city, calling it a “heinous lie”.
asserted
Houthi → deny → it
Islamabad maintains diplomatic channels with Iran, which backs the Houthis.
asserted
which → maintain → Houthis
Houthis undeterred
For their part, the Houthis say they will stay on their current course.
asserted
they → say → course
On Friday, the group said Saudi Arabia had carried out about 37 air strikes across Yemen in recent hours, promising to respond by “striking deep inside Saudi territory”.
asserted
Arabia → say → territory
Al Jazeera’s Nabil al-Yousefi, in Sanaa, reported that Houthi authorities have said the strikes targeted al-Jawf, Saada, Hajjah, Taiz and Lahj governorates, killing five people, three of them children.
asserted
three → report → them
The strikes also allegedly targeted telecommunications towers in several localities and were carried out by jets launched from Saudi airbases, Yousefi cites local sources as saying.
uncertain
Yousefi → target → sources
In response, the Houthis said they would keep hitting Saudi bases, naming King Khalid Air Base and King Fahd Air Base, in particular.
asserted
they → say → Base
An overnight attack on the latter resulted in damage to an Italian fighter jet, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said.
asserted
Crosetto → result → jet
The Houthis also said they would target “oil companies far away from the holy sites”, Yousefi reported.
asserted
Yousefi → say → sites
The Aporia
