Riyadh (GNP): The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement member states meet in Riyadh on Monday to discuss regional developments and review ongoing cooperation under the pact. Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) confirmed the meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee (SPDC) in a statement on social media platform X.
Pakistan’s delegation carries heavy weight. It includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
The delegation will meet its counterparts from the other member states. The FO said the foreign ministers, defence ministers and chiefs of general staff of Saudi Arabia and Türkiye will also attend.
Dar arrived in Madina earlier on Monday ahead of the Riyadh meeting. He paid his respects at the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque and offered prayers, then proceeded to Riyadh, where Munir and Asif are due to join him.
The timing is significant. Last week, Dar confirmed the meeting at a press briefing and described it as an emergency session focused on recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Those tensions have deepened. Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition government launched a major military campaign on Sunday to recapture territory held by the Houthis. Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis showed no signs of abating over the weekend.
The Houthis said the kingdom had launched dozens of strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa. They then attacked an Aramco facility south of Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones. The two sides have traded strikes since the Houthis seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait in a lightning offensive.
Against that backdrop, the defence pact has moved quickly from agreement to action. Signed on August 7, it aims to strengthen collective deterrence and lets its signatory states treat an attack on one of them as an attack on all.
The SPDC held its first meeting in Istanbul on August 31. It decided that Pakistan will initially head the alliance’s secretariat for three years, and retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has since been appointed its first secretary general.
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The committee’s work has continued in step with the crisis. On September 25, the military chiefs of Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh for urgently convened talks under the pact, in light of the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has backed these meetings with firm public statements. On September 18, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia. He said Pakistan will go to any extent to defend the kingdom and described Islamabad’s commitment to its security as unconditional.
Asif has also reaffirmed that Pakistan would stand by Saudi Arabia, both practically and diplomatically, against the Houthis if the situation escalated.
The Foreign Office said Pakistan’s participation signified its “resolve to continue contributing towards regional peace and stability.”
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
