Pakistan has ‘substantial’ forces deployed in Saudi Arabia, says foreign ministry

Pakistan signed a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in August, committing the three countries to assist one another in the event of an attack. (EPA Images pic)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has a "substantial" number of forces deployed in Saudi Arabia acting in a defensive capacity, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

"From Pakistan already we have substantial number of forces as well as resources in town, in Riyadh," foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan told journalists, without specifying whether the deployment had grown under a major defence pact inked this year with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

He added Pakistani military personnel in the kingdom "would not be crossing the borders of the other side for an attack on the Houthis, but of course (is acting) in the defence of the territory".

Yemen's Houthis have launched barrages of aerial salvos against Saudi Arabia including attacks on Riyadh's international airport on Thursday, killing three.

Pakistan signed a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in August committing the three countries to come to each other's aid in the event one was attacked.

The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government has widened, with the Iran-backed fighters staging repeated attacks on Saudi targets since they began a lightning offensive just across the border.

Khan declined to say whether fresh Pakistani deployments had been made since Saudi Arabia's conflict intensified and said "how much and when and where" forces would be deployed would be up to the trilateral alliance, which is headquartered in Riyadh with a retired Pakistani general as its secretary general.

Khan noted that Pakistan's forces had been deployed in Saudi Arabia regularly since the 1980s, including following the signing of a bilateral agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh in 2025.