ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said Pakistan would “practically and diplomatically” stand by Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s Houthi rebels if the situation escalated.

Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis accused the rebels of targeting the holy city of Makkah, sparking outrage across the Muslim world and deepening the conflict roiling the region.

However, the Houthis swiftly rejected Riyadh’s report as a “lie” that it shot down a drone from the rebels heading towards Makkah.

“If the situation escalates, we will stand with Saudi Arabia, both practically and diplomatically,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shehzaib Khanzada Ke Saath’.

Commenting on the Pakistan-Turkiye-Saudi Arabia trilateral agreement — the Makkah Defence Alliance — he affirmed that an agreement was in place.

However, he said that even if there had been no such agreement, Pakistan was bound by an “eternal agreement to respond if the holy sites come under attack”.

“There are some worldly agreements, too, and they have their own sanctity and obligations, but protecting the holy sites is our religious duty,” he said.

Asif maintained that Muslims around the world did not need an agreement to act if the holy sites in Makkah or Madina came under attack. “There is no need to activate any agreement,” he said.

The defence minister maintained that Pakistan would fulfil all its obligations under the Makkah Defence Alliance in accordance with the terms of the agreement between the three countries.