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.
