The large-scale attack launched by Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, the Houthis, against southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday has placed the joint defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan a month ago before its first serious test, raising the question of whether the new alliance can translate its collective defence commitment into practical action.
The attacks struck Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, targeting civilian and economic sites as well as energy facilities. Seventy-three people, including women and children, were injured, while fires broke out and some operations at affected facilities were temporarily suspended, according to an official Saudi announcement.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki described the attacks as a “dangerous escalation” and vowed that the necessary operational measures would be taken.
The timing is particularly notable because the attack came shortly after a major step in building the new alliance. On August 31, the three countries held the first meeting of their Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Istanbul, attended by their foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of staff.
The meeting announced the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the alliance in Saudi Arabia, with a Pakistani official set to serve as secretary-general for three years.
Less than 48 hours before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held separate calls with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to follow up on the understandings reached at the Istanbul meeting and discuss strengthening cooperation under the Makkah Agreement.
“An Attack on One Is an Attack on All”
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the joint defence agreement in Makkah on August 7. The joint declaration stipulated that any armed attack against one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all of them, as part of efforts to strengthen deterrence and collective defence.
However, the publicly available text does not specify a single form of military response that the other two countries must undertake in the event of an attack.
There are no publicly disclosed provisions requiring, for example, the deployment of ground forces or fighter aircraft, or the launching of strikes against the source of an attack.
After the agreement was signed, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said its collective defence principle was “technically identical” to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation treaty.
At the same time, Fidan stressed that the agreement was defensive rather than offensive, did not target any particular country and was not directed against Iran.
He also said the three countries would need to develop joint mechanisms for command, training, weapons-system interoperability and communications.
The current test, therefore, is not simply whether Turkey and Pakistan will regard the attack on Saudi Arabia as an attack on the alliance. The larger question is how that commitment would be translated into military support on the ground.
Not the First Attack, but the Largest
The latest attack is not the first Houthi strike against Saudi Arabia since the Makkah Agreement was signed.
On August 9, just two days after the agreement, the Houthis announced that they had targeted an Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy confirmed at the time that a fire had broken out at the facility and was extinguished, with no injuries reported. No Turkish or Pakistani military action under the agreement was announced following that attack.
This time, however, the scale is considerably different.
The latest attack targeted four Saudi cities, caused dozens of civilian injuries, struck energy facilities and disrupted operations at some of them. Tuesday’s attack therefore appears much closer to the alliance’s first genuine test.
Pakistan Has Gone Beyond Political Pledges
Pakistan’s position differs somewhat from Turkey’s when it comes to defensive military cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
In May, during the war with Iran, Islamabad deployed around 8,000 troops to Saudi Arabia, along with a squadron of JF-17 fighter aircraft, two drone squadrons and the Chinese HQ-9 air defence system under the Saudi-Pakistani defence agreement that existed before the Makkah Agreement.
According to Reuters, the primary role of the forces deployed during the war was advisory and training-related. However, the size of the deployment and the nature of the equipment sent alongside the troops demonstrated Pakistan’s ability to provide substantial defensive military support to Saudi Arabia when it considers the kingdom’s security to be under threat.
The 2015 Precedent Shows the Red Line
Another important precedent points in the opposite direction.
In 2015, when Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to participate militarily in the war against the Houthis inside Yemen, Riyadh requested aircraft, naval vessels and ground troops.
Pakistan’s parliament, however, unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the country to remain neutral in the Yemen war, while affirming that Pakistan would stand with Saudi Arabia if Saudi territory or territorial integrity came under threat.
That distinction has remained central to Pakistan’s position ever since: defending Saudi territory is one matter, while participating in a war inside Yemen is another.
Pakistan’s approach towards defending Saudi Arabia can therefore, at least so far, be summarised as strengthening Saudi air defence, sharing intelligence and helping protect facilities, military bases, airspace and territorial waters.
What Could Turkey Provide?
Turkey has a broader range of potential options.
Ankara possesses advanced capabilities in drones, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and air defence, alongside extensive operational experience in the region.
However, Fidan’s position after the agreement was signed was clear in describing the alliance as defensive rather than a framework for entering wars or launching joint offensive operations.
He also said the three countries had not identified a shared threat in the written agreement and that the alliance did not target countries that did not attack its members.
Ankara’s official position therefore also remains far removed from participating in offensive operations inside Yemen.
What Are Turkish and Pakistani Media Saying?
Pakistani coverage of the alliance since its establishment has focused heavily on building its institutional structure rather than suggesting that war is imminent.
Following the August 31 meeting in Istanbul, Pakistani newspaper Dawn highlighted the alliance’s move towards an institutional framework and Pakistan’s role in managing its secretariat in Saudi Arabia for three years.
Coverage also focused on defence cooperation, military industries, training and joint technological development.
On September 6, less than two days before the attack, Pakistani media focused on Dar’s calls with the Saudi and Turkish foreign ministers to follow up on the understandings reached at the Istanbul meeting.
In Turkey, earlier coverage of the agreement focused on Fidan’s statements stressing its defensive nature, his assertion that it was not directed against Iran and the effort to establish a regional security structure capable of operating jointly.
In its coverage of the latest attack, Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak reported the Saudi coalition’s statement that 73 civilians had been injured in attacks on Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran. It also reported al-Maliki’s statement that joint forces would take the necessary measures to deter further attacks.
So far, however, Turkey has made no announcement that the alliance will be militarily activated in response to Tuesday’s attack.
