“Both countries [Pakistan and Türkiye] have a presence here, but the army fighting is that of Saudi Arabia. We are here and providing any assistance they need,” Asif said in a televised interview on Monday.
He said Pakistani and Turkish forces were playing a supportive role, including in reconnaissance and other activities, while Saudi forces remained engaged in combat operations.
“Saudi forces are engaged in combat, and they are reclaiming territories,” he said.
Asif’s comments came after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye agreed to begin implementing their collective defence commitments and take measures to ensure the rapid deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Alliance in Riyadh on Monday. The deployment is to take place under approved arrangements and in accordance with the national laws of the three countries.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis has also launched military operations in Yemen’s Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah, as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces seek to regain territory held by the Houthis.
Asif said Saudi-backed forces had made gains and recovered territory from the Houthis, adding that the Yemeni government was currently in an advantageous position.
He said the latest Makkah alliance meeting was also aimed at formalising the agreement’s organisational structure. Pakistan’s retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was appointed the alliance’s first secretary-general for a three-year term.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The pact provides for collective security and defence cooperation among the three countries, with the security of each member described as an integral part of their collective security.
