Pakistan and Turkiye Plan Urgent Military Talks Amid Escalating Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Pakistan and Turkiye are coordinating an urgent meeting of their top military chiefs in Riyadh following a formal request from Saudi Arabia. The move comes as the kingdom faces a sustained campaign of missile and drone strikes by Yemen based Houthi forces, which have recently targeted critical infrastructure in Yanbu and Riyadh, as well as areas near Mecca. The planned summit aims to operationalize the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a trilateral pact signed on August 7 that mandates a collective response to armed attacks against any of the three signatory nations.

The trilateral agreement formalizes decades of defense ties, building upon a 1982 protocol and historic military cooperation between Riyadh and Islamabad. It explicitly establishes that hostile military aggression targeting any of the three participating countries is treated as an offensive directed at all of them.

Following the signing, officials from all three nations gathered in Istanbul to set up a permanent secretariat located in Saudi Arabia, while pledging collaborative efforts in defense manufacturing and technological advancement.

Turkiye's Defence Ministry confirmed that General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, the chief of general staff, is traveling to Saudi Arabia for the talks. While Pakistan's military media wing did not confirm the departure of Field Marshal Asim Munir, sources indicate he is expected to join the summit. The urgency of the meeting was underscored during discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where foreign ministers from the three nations reviewed the institutional framework of the alliance. Pakistan has already taken a procedural step by appointing retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the pact, with the General Secretariat being established in Riyadh.

The Houthi movement has issued direct warnings against both Pakistan and Turkiye, threatening an iron fist response should they intervene in the conflict. These threats follow significant territorial gains by the Houthis in Yemen, including control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea coast. Analysts note that while Saudi Arabia possesses significant airpower, the operational burden of the conflict has strained its defenses, prompting Riyadh to seek deeper military integration with its regional allies. Despite the diplomatic show of force, Turkish officials have clarified that the defense agreement awaits formal parliamentary ratification, which is expected when the assembly reconvenes in October.

While Saudi leadership has framed the defense of the kingdom as a religious and national duty, both Islamabad and Ankara have maintained a cautious diplomatic tone. Experts suggest that both nations face significant domestic and external constraints, including stretched military resources and existing border security commitments. The current focus remains on technical negotiations and institutionalizing the alliance, as the three nations navigate the complexities of a conflict that has increasingly threatened civilian and economic targets across the kingdom.