ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Pakistan was \u201cthere to help\u201d Saudi Arabia in any conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are there to help Saudi Arabia in any conflict, whether it is coming from the Houthis or a country or any other outfit that threatens Saudi Arabia\u2019s security. We will be there to defend them,\u201d he said in a video clip, which appeared to be excerpted from a longer interview, published by Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks come amid fresh fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government that has dragged in Riyadh, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom and targeting its ships in the Red Sea. Both sides have claimed strikes on each other as tensions remain high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Against this backdrop, Pakistan, which has signed two defence agreements with Riyadh, has expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sept 18, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan would go to \u201cany extent\u201d to defend Saudi Arabia, adding that Islamabad\u2019s commitment to the kingdom\u2019s security was \u201cunconditional\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, Asif has also reaffirmed that Pakistan would \u201cpractically and diplomatically\u201d stand by Saudi Arabia against Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels if the situation escalated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his latest remarks, Asif said \u201cthere is no absolutely no doubt in our mind that Houthis are committing aggression against Saudi Arabia\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that Pakistan was bound an arrangement to defend Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And \u201cwhen I say that we are bound by this arrangement to defend Saudi Arabia, that means that whatever means are available at our disposal, they will be available to Saudi Arabia also\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, the use of \u201carrangement\u201d was apparently a reference to one of the defence pacts Pakistan has signed with Riyadh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first one, the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), was signed in Sept 2025, under which the two countries pledged that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two countries are also a party to the Makkah Defence Alliance, which also includes Turkiye. The pact was signed on August 7 and provides that an attack on one member state would be treated as an attack on all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military leadership of the three countries also held a meeting last week in Riyadh. During the meeting, the military leaders expressed a shared determination to \u201cimmediately translate\u201d their commitments under the Makkah Defence Alliance into effective military cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his interview to Al Jazeera, Asif also said Houthis were \u201cenemies of Saudi Arabia, and any enemy of Saudi Arabia is an enemy of Pakistan That should we very clear\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd Iranians are not accepting them (Houthis) as their proxy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome of these proxies have become rogue. I don\u2019t have to go into history, I can give you multiple examples of that. Some countries \u2014 A, B or C \u2014 they launch a proxy, and then the proxy has its own way of multiplying and then becoming a rogue sort of entity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Pakistan was \u201cthere to help\u201d Saudi Arabia in any conflict. \u201cWe are there to help Saudi Arabia in any conflict, whether it is coming from the Houthis or a country or any other outfit that threatens Saudi Arabia\u2019s security. We will be there to defend them,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n