‘Our commitment is unconditional’: Amid Houthi attacks, DG ISPR says Pakistan will ‘go to any extent’ to defend Saudi Arabia

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that Pakistan will go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia, adding that Islamabad’s commitment to the kingdom’s security is “unconditional”. He made the remarks in an interview with Arab News, clips of which were posted on its social media account on X on Friday. The remarks come as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis has intensified, with the group making gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast near the strategic waterway and launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory, while Riyadh has stepped up airstrikes against Houthi positions. This week, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis accused the rebels of targeting the holy city of Makkah, sparking outrage across the Muslim world. However, the Houthis swiftly rejected Riyadh’s report as a “lie”. “Pakistan fully stands with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both diplomatically and physically. And I would like to underscore the word physically, ” Lt Gen Chaudhry said in the interview with Arab News. “We will go to any extent for the security of Haramain Sharifain and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To any extent as asked and required by our Saudi brothers, ” he said. “It should be clear that the people of Pakistan stand shoulder to shoulder with their Saudi brothers and sisters. There should be no doubt about it, ” he said. “So, in a nutshell, we are there and will continue to defend the kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any aggression, ” he said. The military’s spokesperson added that Pakistan’s politico-military leadership remained in continuous contact and engagement with the Saudi leadership. He said that at the same time, Pakistan, “very earnestly and sincerely”, was working with the help of regional countries and others to find a “negotiated, peaceful outcome of this complex situation”. “That’s where the position of Pakistan is, ” he said. In another clip posted on X, he said Pakistan “remained not only committed, but we are already there for the protection of Haramain Sharifain and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia”. “We are there to protect them, ” he asserted, reiterating that Pakistan would “go to any extent” as required by the Saudi leadership. “Our commitment to Saudi security is unconditional. It stems from a deep-rooted, historical and unbreakable bond between the people of Pakistan and the people of Saudi Arabia, between the political and the military leadership of both countries, ” he said. “So, nothing stops us. Nothing bars us. Nothing is there which hesitates [sic] our commitment. So, whatever is required, whatever is asked, we will go to any extent for that, ” he said. According to the write-up of the interview, Lt Gen Chaudhry was also asked about the phone call between Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday. “The politico-military leadership of Pakistan remains in continuous communication with the esteemed leadership of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on all these matters, ” he was quoted as saying by the publication. Lt Gen Chaudhry added that Islamabad was consulting regional governments to seek “a negotiated and peaceful outcome” to the wider crisis. He described the Islamabad memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran in June as “a consensus document which we think provides the only real pathway forward for getting out of this complex military situation in which we are’. According to the publication, asked whether Pakistan expected to bring Washington and Tehran back to negotiations soon, the military spokesperson gave no timetable. He said Islamabad continued to search for common ground despite mistrust, “spoilers” and “detractors”. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed the “ Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement ” in Riyadh last September, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both. Last month, the countries and Turkiye also signed the Makkah Defence Alliance, which stipulates that an attack on one member state would be treated as an attack on all. Its inaugural meeting was held in Istanbul on Aug 31, where it was decided that Pakistan would initially head the alliance’s secretariat for three years. Earlier this week, Lt Gen Chaudhry said that the Makkah defence pact had no “regional aspirations” and that it was intended for collective deterrence. “It is defensive. There’s nothing aggressive. There are no regional aspirations. It is collective deterrence, ” he said in an interview with Al Arabiya English. Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitments to Saudi Arabia’s security, but stressed that the Houthi conflict should be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy rather than through coercive means. “The Houthis must also stop their activities, and in this regard, our discussions basically revolve around bringing peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy, and not through coercive measures, ” he said. The FO spokesperson also said that Pakistan was committed “in intent and spirit” to implementing the agreements signed with Saudi Arabia. He nevertheless declined to disclose how Pakistan might respond operationally, saying such decisions involved matters of confidentiality.

Read full story on Dawn