Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye will hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh next week to discuss Houthi attacks on the Kingdom. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Dar said the committee would determine the next steps at the meeting, adding that more than six countries had expressed interest in joining the Makkah alliance, according to Reuters. In a statement carried by Reuters on Friday, the Pakistani military said its senior commanders had strongly condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, expressed solidarity with the Kingdom and reaffirmed their commitment to the security of Islam’s holy sites. The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, signed on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stipulates that an armed attack against any one of its signatories shall be considered an attack against all three. Any joint military response is subject to an assessment by the member states, particularly the country under attack, taking into account the need for such action, the nature and severity of the attack, the level of threat and the contributions required from each party to achieve the intended integration of their efforts. Istanbul hosted the first meeting of the agreement’s Strategic Political and Defense Committee on Aug. 31, bringing together the foreign and defense ministers and military chiefs of staff of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. During the meeting, the three countries reaffirmed their determination to work together under the Makkah agreement to achieve sustainable peace and stability in their region and continue supporting efforts to promote de-escalation and restraint. They encouraged peaceful solutions to crises in line with their commitment to fulfilling their regional responsibilities. The three countries’ foreign ministers subsequently met in New York on Sept. 24 to review progress toward establishing the agreement’s general secretariat, committees and working groups, as well as preparations for the launch of their activities. The ministers also condemned attacks targeting Makkah and civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia, stressing the Kingdom’s right to take whatever measures it deemed appropriate to defend its security under Article 51 of the UN Charter. On Sept. 25, the three countries’ military chiefs of staff met in Riyadh to review the security situation and attacks against Saudi Arabia. They condemned the strikes targeting Makkah and the Kingdom’s civilian and economic infrastructure. Participants also discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation among their armed forces, develop intelligence cooperation, enhance military coordination and integrate their capabilities to bolster deterrence and collective defense.
