Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that Islamabad will provide reconnaissance support while Saudi forces take the front line, as the three allies signed a deployment pact in Riyadh on Oct. 5, 2026.
On Sept. 10, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan told reporters that Pakistan would act under the Mecca pact when the time came, yet no discussion was underway. He also warned Tehran to rein in its Yemeni allies, and the ministry later said a military response was not on the table.
The same day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the UN General Assembly, declaring that any threat to Mecca and Medina was a red line. He met Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in Riyadh to coordinate intelligence and capability integration.
On Oct. 2, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said he raised the pact with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the margins of UN meetings in New York. Dar reported that Iran floated a political approach to the Houthis as an alternative to military action, describing the exchange as brainstorming.
Three days later, ministers from Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh and agreed to deploy forces. Khawaja Asif said Islamabad and Ankara would be present in the operational area in a supportive role, with Pakistan involved in reconnaissance. The statement made no troop numbers or equipment lists.
Iran reacted on Oct. 4, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei saying Tehran hoped the deployment reports were untrue. State media ran a headline accusing Turkey and Pakistan of joining the Saudi war, a sharp shift from earlier diplomatic language.
Mohammed Al‑Bukhaiti, a Houthi official, warned that Pakistan and Turkey would face retaliation if they deploy, while the Houthis have largely assumed neither country will join the war directly.
The deployment is set to begin next week, with Pakistani and Turkish forces positioned in the operational area, while Tehran monitors the situation for any escalation.