On October 6, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stated, “Pakistan and Türkiye are stationed here (Saudi Arabia), but it is the Saudi military that is currently fighting in Yemen.”
In an interview with the Pakistani media outlet Geo News that day, Minister Asif emphasized, “Any kind of support Saudi Arabia needs is being provided. Currently, the Turkish and Pakistani militaries are playing a supporting role.”
This means that Pakistan and Türkiye are not directly fighting against Yemen’s Ansar Allah forces. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye signed the Mecca Defense Treaty in August of this year. Saudi Arabia is currently attacking Yemeni government forces and Ansar Allah forces, and has claimed to have retaken the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea.
The previous day, the three countries—Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye—held an emergency meeting of the Strategic, Political, and Defense Committee of the Mecca Defense Alliance in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and announced in a joint statement that they would immediately begin substantive implementation of their collective defense obligations.
