DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry speaks during an interview with CNN. SCREENGRAB
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday that Pakistani troops were present in Saudi Arabia in “multiple capabilities” amid the kingdom’s escalating conflict with Yemen’s Houthis and developments related to it.
On August 7, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye formalised their longstanding strategic relationship through the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA), a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.
In an interview with CNN, the military spokesperson was questioned about whether Pakistani military personnel were present in the kingdom as part of the Makkah Defence Alliance, to which he said: “I do confirm that the forces of Pakistan are already there … the Pakistani troops have been there for decades in multiple capabilities.”
He said the Makkah pact was not borne out of a “vacuum”. “There is a sustained diplomatic, political, military and people-to-people relationship between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye,” he added.
The DG ISPR reiterated that forces were present in “multiple domains” in the kingdom.
Read: Makkah defence alliance agrees to ‘rapid force deployment’ in Saudi Arabia: FO
In a major development that may have far-reaching implications for the region, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye activated the practical implementation of their collective defence commitments on Monday.
According to a joint statement issued on Monday night, the activation entailed immediate deployment of “the agreed military forces and capabilities to the kingdom in response to security threats”.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Strategic-Political and Defence Committee of the alliance, held in Riyadh to discuss the security developments and threats facing Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in an active conflict with Houthis, who have been targeting the various strategic and economic assets in the kingdom.
However, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday had rejected what it described as “speculative” reporting by Reuters on the pact, saying operational details concerning the implementation of the collective deterrence mechanism were confidential.
The ministry’s statement followed a Reuters report published on October 2, which said Pakistan had deployed between 30,000 and 40,000 troops to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom’s land borders and assist with drone and missile interceptions, citing a Pakistani official. Reuters reported that Islamabad had not decided to send troops into Yemen in a fighting capacity.
