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ROME: Pakistan will use \u201cwhatever means are available\u201d to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the country\u2019s defense minister said Tuesday, offering one of Islamabad\u2019s clearest indications yet that it could become directly involved in the widening regional conflict.<\/p>\n
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already participated in airstrikes. He said, however, that Pakistan\u2019s military capabilities would be available to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going into detail, but obviously when I say that we are bound by this arrangement to defend Saudi Arabia, that means whatever means are available at our disposal, they\u2019ll be available to Saudi Arabia also. I think that\u2019s a categoric statement,\u201d Asif told reporters during a visit to Rome when asked whether Pakistan had been involved in airstrikes against Iranian operators in Yemen.<\/p>\n
His response did not explicitly confirm Pakistani participation in any strikes. He also did not say whether Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly attacked by the Houthis in recent weeks, had asked for assistance.<\/p>\n
Military commanders recently met<\/strong><\/p>\n His comments came days after the army chiefs of Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh to discuss responses to Houthi attacks.<\/p>\n Asif said the Houthis had intensified missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and expanded their control along Yemen\u2019s Red Sea coast.<\/p>\n The Houthis recently captured the strategic port city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, extending their reach toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a maritime route through which about 12% of global trade passes. They, along with allied militias in Iraq, also have attacked Saudi oil facilities and sought to prevent Saudi tankers from using the strait.<\/p>\n New alliance is still taking shape<\/strong><\/p>\n Asif described the Houthis as aggressors and said Pakistan\u2019s commitment to Saudi Arabia was unambiguous.<\/p>\n \u201cAny enemy of Saudi Arabia is enemy of Pakistan. That should be very clear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7, declaring that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all three. The countries have described the pact as defensive and said it is not directed against any particular state.<\/p>\n The agreement brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan. Asif did not mention nuclear weapons or suggest they were part of Pakistan\u2019s commitment to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n