Pakistan’s defence commitments to Saudi Arabia under scrutiny after Houthi strikes: Report

Islamabad: Pakistan’s defence commitments to Saudi Arabia are under scrutiny after the first serious test of those agreements, a report said.

“The renewed Houthi assault on Saudi territory, however, is exposing the unresolved question beneath that architecture: how much of Pakistan’s security role is an operational commitment, and how much remains declaratory deterrence?”, said the report in Eurasia Review.

Pakistan signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Saudi Arabia in September 2025, under which aggression against either state is treated as aggression against both. That was followed by the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“An armed attack against one of the three states is to be regarded as an attack against all,” the report said of the Mecca agreement, describing its language as unusually explicit.

Islamabad is also embedded in the Multinational Maritime Defence Coalition, announced on July 30 by Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries and operational since September 2, with Pakistan’s Commodore Rashid Sheikh serving as deputy commander — the second-highest position in the force. Pakistan has presented the Mecca accord as a mechanism for collective deterrence and regional stability, the report said.

“The problem is that the first serious test has produced caution rather than clarity,” it said, noting that Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had said on September 10 that no military response under the Mecca Agreement was being discussed.

The renewed Houthi campaign has struck Saudi cities and energy infrastructure, including Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, the report said.

“The tension sharpened further on September 15, when Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered the holy city’s restricted airspace,” it said.

The security of Mecca, Medina and pilgrims was a “red line”, Saudi coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said, according to the report.

“The Houthis denied targeting Mecca, meaning the intended target remains disputed, but the incident nevertheless brought the confrontation directly into the politically most sensitive area possible for Pakistan,” the report said.

IANS