Published : 30 Sep 2026, 01:58 PM
Updated : 30 Sep 2026, 01:58 PM
Pakistan will deploy “whatever means are available” to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said, signalling potential direct military involvement in the expanding West Asian crisis.
Asif made the comments on Tuesday during a visit to Rome while declining to say whether Pakistani forces had already taken part in airstrikes against Iranian operators in Yemen, Politico reports.
He said Pakistan’s military capabilities would be available to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the American outlet said.
"I'm 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'll be available to Saudi Arabia also. I think that's a categoric statement," the minister said.
He did not say whether Saudi Arabia, repeatedly attacked by the Houthis in recent weeks, had formally requested assistance.
His remarks came days after the army chiefs of Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh to discuss a joint response to Houthi attacks, according to the report.
Asif said the Houthis had ramped up missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia and expanded their hold along Yemen's Red Sea coast.
The group has recently seized the strategic port city of Mokha along with several Red Sea islands, pushing closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait -- a route that carries about 12 percent of global trade, Politico said.
The Houthis, along with allied militias in Iraq, have also struck Saudi oil facilities and tried to block Saudi tankers from using the strait, it added.
Calling the Houthis “aggressors”, Asif said Pakistan's commitment to Saudi Arabia was unambiguous: "Any enemy of Saudi Arabia is enemy of Pakistan. That should be very clear."
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence 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.
The agreement brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Minister Asif did not mention nuclear weapons or suggest they were part of Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia.
The fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has created an early test for the alliance.
The pact’s full text has not been released, while its command and operational structures are still being developed.
Asif said the three countries were establishing a secretariat and putting the alliance’s framework in place.
Other countries have expressed interest in joining, he said, but there were no immediate plans to expand the alliance.
Asif said the alliance reflected a belief among its members that existing security arrangements had failed to protect Gulf countries as the conflict involving Iran spread across the region.
“Once you start a conflict, you cannot control the outcome of that conflict. You cannot control the trajectory of that conflict,” he said.
Pakistan Retains Ties With Iran
Iran has been accused of supplying the Houthis with weapons and other assistance, a claim Tehran denies, while the group says it operates independently.
Asif suggested the Houthis and some Iraqi militias might now act with substantial independence from Iran.
“Some of these proxies, they become rogue,” he said.
Despite Pakistan’s willingness to support Saudi Arabia militarily, Asif said Islamabad was also pressing for negotiations to end the broader conflict involving Iran and supported reviving a negotiated agreement over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Pakistan sought to establish itself as a mediator earlier this year, working with other countries in the region to end the conflict.
While indirect talks between the US and Iran have resumed through mediators, Asif provided no details on Pakistan’s involvement in the latest efforts.
In April, Pakistan hosted rare direct talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad.
The two sides reached an interim agreement in June and committed to trying to reach a final deal within 60 days, but the deadline passed and hostilities resumed.
Top diplomats from Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia also met recently on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss implementing the new defence pact and coordinating a response to attacks targeting Makkah and other sites in Saudi Arabia.
