Pakistan and Turkey agreed on Monday to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Defence Alliance. This comes amid ongoing attacks by Houthi rebel groups from Yemen targeting the Kingdom.
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.”
Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud said in a post on X, “The Emergency Meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee under the Makkah Alliance for Defense reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom and the holy sites.
Meanwhile, the development comes following weeks of Houthi attacks, as Riyadh and its Yemeni government allies launched a counteroffensive against the group, according to an AFP report. The statement reaffirmed the three countries’ “categorical rejection of any aggression or threat to the security of the Kingdom and the safety of its territories.
The member countries “strongly condemned” an alleged attempt by the rebel group to target the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and the ongoing attacks targeting cities, civilian facilities and economic installations in Saudi Arabia, according to a joint statement. “The member states affirmed that the security of each member state is an indivisible part of the collective security of the three states,” it further said. The joint statement also said that Saudi’s allies under the pact, Turkey and Pakistan, would deploy forces to the Kingdom to confront and counter the ‘threats. The Houthis have been targeting neighbouring Saudi Arabia since Yemen’s civil war reignited, the report also said. Earlier reporting noted: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye agree on rapid deployment of forces in the Kingdom Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey agreed on Monday (October 5, 2026) to move immediately to implement their collective defence commitments and ensure the “rapid deployment” of agreed military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia, the three countries said in a joint statement shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry. Earlier reporting noted: The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Mecca Defence Alliance in Riyadh and would be carried out under “approved arrangements” and the national laws of the three countries, the statement said. Earlier reporting noted: The meeting “reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom and the holy sites,” the Saudi Defence Minister said on X.
