Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to activate “deterrence measures” under a mutual defense pact and rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
The decision was announced Monday after the three countries’ defense and foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Riyadh. It marked the first time the alliance — known as the Mecca Alliance for Defence — has been invoked since it was signed Aug. 7.
The agreement declares that an attack on any of the three nations will be treated as an attack on all, mirroring a central provision of NATO’s founding treaty.
“The committee agreed to activate collective deterrence measures, within the framework of the Alliance, in response to the attacks and all those responsible for them,” Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, said in a social media post.
He said the alliance had “reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries, in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom, and holy sites.”
A separate joint statement published by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the three countries would “provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment” to Saudi Arabia.
The commitments, the joint statement said, would be carried out under “approved arrangements” and in accordance with each country’s laws.
The announcements came hours after forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government launched a counteroffensive to retake territory the Iran-aligned Houthis captured last month. The Yemeni forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, said they have retaken the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea and are now in control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
