Pakistan Confirms Troop Deployment in Saudi Arabia Amid Escalating Houthi Attacks

Islamabad — Key Saudi ally Pakistan has confirmed it has troops stationed in the Gulf kingdom, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue cross-border attacks with deadly assaults on airports.

“The forces of Pakistan are already there. That I can share with you,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, without specifying how many or their capabilities, noting those details were classified.

The confirmation from Chaudhry, the chief of the Pakistani military’s media wing, came just days after the two nations and Turkey agreed to the rapid deployment of the forces as part of a newly minted mutual defense treaty.

Over the past two days, the Houthis have killed three people in attacks on Saudi’s Abha International Airport, near the Yemen border, and King Khalid International Airport, in the capital Riyadh, Saudi officials said. The attacks underscore how the conflict is increasingly affecting Saudi territory as Riyadh deepens its support for the Yemeni government’s military campaign.

The targeting of the airports prompted an updated security alert from the US Mission in Saudi Arabia, warning American citizens that the conflict “has the potential to escalate.”

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have been at war with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. The conflict flared up in July, shortly after the US-Iran ceasefire unravelled, with Houthi missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in an expansion of the Middle East war.

The escalation has coincided with Saudi moves to strengthen defense cooperation with regional military heavyweights Turkey, a NATO member, and nuclear-armed Pakistan. The trio recently signed a pact with NATO-style collective defense provisions, often referred to as the Mecca Alliance.

Chaudhry, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, told CNN that the deployment of Pakistani forces had “not come out of a vacuum,” noting that Pakistan has had a military presence in Saudi Arabia for decades.

Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi’s security was “absolute,” Chaudhry said, describing the alliance as a mechanism for collective defense under which an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all. However, he declined to state whether Pakistani troops would be involved in any operations across the border in Yemen, emphasizing that any involvement would be “defensive in nature.”

In a joint statement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday, the three countries announced they would move immediately to implement collective defense commitments and ensure the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

Coming to Saudi’s defense remains a complex calculation for Pakistan, which has played a key role in mediating between Iran—its neighbor and backer of the Houthis—and the US since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran. Chaudhry stated that Pakistan was still pushing for a negotiated, peaceful outcome to end the US-Iran conflict and prevent it from expanding.