Arab News | Pakistan military confirms deployment of forces to Saudi Arabia under Makkah pact

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has confirmed the deployment of his country’s forces to Saudi Arabia under the recently signed Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, saying Pakistani soldiers were discharging duties in the Kingdom in “multiple capabilities and domains.”

The statement comes days after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye agreed to provide designated forces and military capabilities under the trilateral pact, following a meeting of the Strategic-Political and Defense Committee of the Makkah Alliance for Defense in Riyadh to address the security developments and threats facing Saudi Arabia.

It followed repeated attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis against the Kingdom in recent weeks, with drones and missiles targeting civilian and economic infrastructure. Pakistani, Saudi and Turkish officials at the Oct. 5 meeting in Riyadh reaffirmed their unequivocal rejection of any attack or threat against the Kingdom’s security and territorial integrity.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in the Saudi holy city on Aug. 7, 2026, which committed the three countries to treat an armed attack on one member as an attack on all, marking one of the region’s most significant new collective security arrangements.

“I can confirm that we, the forces of Pakistan, are already there [in the Kingdom]. That I can assure you,” Pakistan’s Lt. Gen. Chaudhry said in an interview with CNN.

“Yeah, Pakistani troops have been there for decades, in multiple capabilities. They have been there for decades in Saudi Arabia,” he said, when asked if Pakistani military personnel were deployed in the Kingdom under the Makkah defense alliance.

Pakistan has long provided ​military support to Saudi Arabia, including training and ​advisory deployments, while Riyadh has repeatedly stepped in to support Islamabad financially during periods of economic stress.

Both countries also signed a separate bilateral defense agreement in Sept. last year. Islamabad deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and ​an air defense system to Saudi Arabia under the pact, ramping up military cooperation with Riyadh, Reuters reported in May.

Lt. Gen. Chaudhry said the trilateral defense alliance was not something that had “come out of a vacuum.”

“There is a sustained diplomatic, political, military and people-to-people relationship between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye,” he said.

“So I can share with you that the Pakistani forces, in multiple capabilities and domains, are already there [in the Kingdom].”

Turkiye was also sending mainly defensive ​and technical support to Saudi Arabia to help it fight Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two officials.

Together with Pakistan, Turkiye, which has NATO’s second-largest army and a robust defense industry, has condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to ensure navigational safety in the Red Sea.

• This article also appears on Arab News Pakistan