Pakistan Will Go ‘To Any Extent’ to Defend Saudi Arabia, Including Makkah and Madinah, DG ISPR Says
By Haris Qureshi — SCN News
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan will go “to any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia against aggression and stands ready to support the kingdom not only diplomatically but “physically,” the Pakistani military’s chief spokesperson said, delivering Islamabad’s clearest public assurance to Riyadh since a surge of Houthi missile and drone attacks placed Saudi cities and energy infrastructure under renewed pressure.
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s commitment was “unconditional” and explicitly extended to the protection of Makkah and Madinah, Islam’s two holiest cities. “Pakistan fully stands with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both diplomatically and physically,” Chaudhry told Arab News in an interview, stressing the word “physically” before saying Islamabad would go “to any extent.”
The remarks carry particular significance because they come as Saudi Arabia confronts a renewed series of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Falling debris from a drone intercepted over Taif killed a Yemeni resident and wounded two others, including a Pakistani who was reported critically injured, while Saudi authorities have reported more than 80 people wounded during the recent escalation.
The Saudi-led coalition also said this week that it intercepted a Houthi drone heading toward restricted airspace around Makkah. The Houthis denied targeting the holy city, although they have claimed other recent attacks against Saudi territory. Saudi coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki described Makkah’s security as a “red line,” underscoring the sensitivity of any threat approaching Islam’s holiest site.
Chaudhry directly connected Pakistan’s security commitment to the holy cities. He said there should be “no doubt” about Islamabad’s position and that Pakistan would continue to defend Saudi Arabia against aggression. Pakistan’s state-run Associated Press of Pakistan separately reported him as saying that Islamabad was already present in the kingdom and would remain there to ensure the protection of Haramain Sharifain and Saudi Arabia.
His comments also put greater public emphasis on the military dimension of Pakistan’s commitments than Islamabad had done only days earlier. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7, under which an armed attack against one of the three countries is considered an attack against all. That arrangement builds on the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025. The complete operational provisions of the agreements have not been publicly released, leaving the precise military obligations they could trigger unresolved.
That distinction remains important despite Chaudhry’s forceful language. He did not announce a new Pakistani combat deployment, say that Riyadh had formally requested additional Pakistani forces or specify what military action Islamabad would take if Houthi attacks continued. He also did not confirm whether Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent forms part of its security guarantee to Saudi Arabia.
The comments nevertheless come as Riyadh seeks additional assistance from allies amid pressure on its missile-defence stocks. Officials cited by the Associated Press said Saudi Arabia had approached several partners, including Pakistan, Egypt, Britain and France, as the kingdom confronted repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks. No country had publicly committed direct military support at the time of that reporting.
Pakistan is simultaneously trying to prevent its Saudi security commitments from pulling it deeper into the broader regional confrontation. Islamabad maintains relations with neighbouring Iran and has been involved in mediation between Tehran and Washington. Chaudhry said Pakistan’s political and military leadership remained in continuous contact with Saudi leaders while Pakistani officials were consulting regional governments in pursuit of a “negotiated and peaceful outcome.”
That balancing effort has become more difficult as Houthi attacks intensify. The Financial Times reported that Pakistan has urged Iran to use its influence to restrain attacks on Saudi Arabia, while Tehran has maintained that it does not control the Yemeni movement. Pakistan has historically sought to maintain close strategic relations with Riyadh without becoming directly involved in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
The latest military statement therefore sharpens Pakistan’s public position without resolving exactly how it would be implemented. Islamabad has now explicitly said its commitment to Saudi Arabia is diplomatic and physical, has tied that commitment directly to the defence of Makkah and Madinah and has said it will go “to any extent” against aggression. But whether those assurances translate into additional troops, air-defence assistance or direct participation against an attacker would depend on decisions that Pakistani and Saudi authorities have not publicly announced.