Pakistan, KSA, Turkiye review institutionalisation of Makkah defence pact

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey convened a meeting to assess the institutionalization of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The discussion took place during the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan convened despite the sidelines of the event.

Dar reported on X that the trio also exchanged views on pertinent regional and international security concerns. Elsewhere, Reuters revealed that the three nations plan to organize an urgent, high-level meeting under the Makkah Joint Defence Pact to deliberate on strategies to bolster Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthis' aggression against the kingdom.

The Houthis have been targeting the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and have fired indiscriminately into Saudi territory, disrupting the flow of oil from the world's largest exporter. This conflict, part of a broader Middle East war ignited by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has seen the Houthis launch a barrage of missiles and drones at Saudi targets.

Saudi Arabia has responded by intercepting six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters and has issued emergency alerts for numerous areas, including Makkah, Jeddah, and Yanbu, the primary Saudi Red Sea oil port.

Saudi King Salman, in a rare statement, denounced the Houthis as a "terrorist militia" and urged his country's soldiers to be prepared to sacrifice their lives in the fight to oust the group from power.