Pakistan Army performing defense duties in Saudi Arabia: Foreign Office

Pakistan's foreign office has said that a substantial number of its military personnel are stationed in Saudi Arabia, which is performing defense duties. Spokesperson of the Foreign Office, Sajjad Haider Khan, while talking to journalists, said that "Pakistani army is there to defend the Saudi territory and will not cross the border to attack the Houthis."

He further informed that Pakistan already has a large number of military personnel and resources in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The spokesman of the Foreign Office said that the Pakistan Army deployed in Saudi Arabia will not cross the border and attack the Houthis, but will play its role in defending the Saudi territory. Earlier on Wednesday, the spokesman of the Pakistani army, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary, also confirmed the deployment of the Pakistani army in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. In an interview to the American broadcasting organization CNN, he told that "Pakistani soldiers have been performing different types of responsibilities and duties in the country for decades." The spokesman of the Pakistani army also said that "the Makkah Defense Alliance is not an arrangement that came into existence suddenly, but is the result of continuous diplomatic, political, military and public relations between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey."

It should be remembered that the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement was concluded between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on August 7, 2026. Under the treaty, an armed attack on one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three. Pakistan has termed the agreement as defensive in nature, while military cooperation and contacts between the three countries have increased in recent days.