Pakistan sends forces to Saudi Arabia without parliamentary vote under Mecca pact

Pact invoked for the first time

On Monday, the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed in August was invoked for the first time, as the kingdom faces escalating attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis. An emergency meeting in Riyadh, attended by Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saudi and Turkish counterparts, condemned attempted attacks on Mecca and Medina. The three countries said they would "provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment" in line with each country's national legislation, but gave no troop numbers, missions, command arrangements, costs or duration. The Houthis declared a ban on Saudi shipping in July and have since struck tankers and oil facilities.

Attacks on Saudi airports

On Tuesday, a Houthi-claimed attack on Abha International Airport killed two women, citizens of Morocco and Algeria, and injured 28 people, according to Saudi authorities. On Wednesday, an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed a Sudanese citizen and injured eight people, according to a Saudi toll cited by CNN. The Houthis claimed both attacks. Saudi general Turki al-Maliki said the ballistic missile launcher used against the capital had been destroyed and warned that a new attack was being prepared.

Parliament left out of the decision

Constitutional changes last year put Munir in command of all three services until 2030, with lifetime rank as field marshal and immunity from criminal prosecution. Parliament voted in 2015 to keep Pakistan out of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, but this deployment was agreed without a parliamentary vote. The information ministry said the alliance "has gone through all necessary government procedures" but did not say whether the cabinet or parliament was involved, calling the details a matter of operational confidentiality. The party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan is marching on Islamabad, accusing the army of dominating politics, an accusation the army denies. Michael Kugelman, a resident senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said:

There were times in the past when Pakistan's parliament would vote not to send troops, and the military would abide by that decision. But it's a different era now.

Pakistani forces and the Houthi threat

Army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN that Pakistani forces were already in Saudi Arabia, without specifying numbers or capabilities. He said Pakistan's commitment to Saudi security was "absolute" and that any involvement would be defensive, without confirming whether troops would take part in operations in Yemen.

Pakistan's forces are already there. That much I can tell you.

It is not yet clear whether Pakistani troops would join operations against the Houthis, and direct fighting could rupture relations with Tehran, with which Islamabad is mediating the US-led war on Iran. Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote that Pakistani jets had apparently taken part in an operation against the Houthis. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised Pakistan for winning the trust of both Tehran and Washington.

Turkey's limited role

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Ankara is assessing how to help Saudi Arabia defend against the Houthis, mainly in air defence, electronic warfare and technical support, and ruled out offensive operations. He said Turkey "will not send troops to another country and carry out an attack there."

But this is a defensive agreement. When a country party to the pact comes under attack, you stand by it in its defence.

A Turkish government representative told Reuters that Ankara had no plans to intervene directly in Yemen and that its support would be mainly technical, covering military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems. A US official familiar with the agreement told Reuters that Turkey's contribution would include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work and unmanned aerial vehicle operators.