Pakistan has deployed a “substantial” number of military forces and resources in Saudi Arabia, the country’s foreign ministry said.
“Pakistan already has a substantial number of forces, as well as resources, in Riyadh,” Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told reporters in Islamabad on Friday, according to an official transcript of his news conference.
Khan stressed the Mecca pact between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia “is a defensive organisation, an alliance intended to defend the three countries against aggression.”
“Therefore, these forces would not cross the border into Yemen to launch attacks against the Houthis. However, they would, of course, be utilised to defend the country’s territory and safeguard its sovereignty,” he explained.
The Mecca pact was signed on August 7 by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, followed by a series of steps by its three member states to institutionalise the agreement.
However, Khan said it was up to the alliance organisation “to assess the threat perception and operate in accordance with its own mandate.”
Before the trilateral Mecca pact was signed, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed a bilateral defence agreement last September, following which “there has again been some deployment,” said Khan, the ministry spokesperson.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN, "The Pakistani troops have been there for decades in multiple capabilities.”
Chaudhry said Pakistani forces were already present in Saudi Arabia across multiple domains but declined to disclose troop numbers or operational capabilities, citing their sensitive nature.
The foreign ministry spokesperson Khan added, "Since 1982, the Pakistan armed forces have been present in Saudi Arabia in one capacity or another, sometimes under logistical arrangements and sometimes as part of training missions.”
The remarks came after Islamabad rejected a New York Times report claiming Pakistani fighter jets were conducting strikes against Houthi militia targets in Yemen.
“We have been a very honest broker. The neutrality comes from honesty,” the Pakistani army spokesperson said.
After the US and Israel launched a war on Iran early this year, Pakistan mediated a ceasefire in April and later hosted high-level talks and secured the June 18 Islamabad MoU between Washington and Tehran.
