Pakistan, Turkey to deploy forces in Saudi Arabia

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey agreed on Monday to move immediately to implement their collective defense commitments and ensure the “rapid deployment” of agreed military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia, the three countries said in a joint statement shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Mecca Defense Alliance in Riyadh and would be carried out under “approved arrangements” and the national laws of the three countries, the statement said.

The meeting “reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom and the holy sites,” the Saudi defense minister said on X.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group had attacked a power distribution station in the Saudi city of Medina, which supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.

The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.