NEW YORK: Pakistan Will Respond to Any Aggression Against Saudi Arabia, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said, describing alleged Houthi attacks against the Kingdom as a matter of serious concern. Speaking to Senior Journalist Mateen Haider at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Asif called for an immediate end to the attacks and reaffirmed Pakistan’s concern for Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and the sanctity of the holy sites.
Asif said Pakistan considered Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty extremely important and stressed that Islamabad would respond to any aggression against the Kingdom.
Pakistan Will Respond to Any Aggression Against Saudi Arabia
The defence minister described the Houthis as a group that does not represent any country and accused them of operating against Saudi Arabia as a terrorist group. He said attacks by the Houthis were a matter of grave concern for Pakistan and should end immediately.
Asif also spoke about the recently formed Makkah Defence Alliance involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. He said the alliance was established for peace and was not intended to initiate aggression against any country.
According to Asif, the alliance would provide a unified response if any member came under attack. He said the possibility of including additional regional countries could be considered in the future, but stressed that expansion was not currently on the agenda.
The minister said the immediate priority was to establish the alliance’s secretariat and develop its institutional structure.
Terrorism and Afghanistan
Discussing terrorism in Pakistan, Asif said attacks originating from Afghanistan remained a major concern for Islamabad. He said terrorism and unrest had increased recently, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
According to the defence minister, Pakistan would raise concerns about alleged support for terrorism from Afghanistan and India in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Asif said the issue remained high on the government’s agenda and would be a significant part of the prime minister’s UN address.
Islamabad MoU and US-Iran Conflict
Asif also discussed the Pakistan-brokered Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran. He said contacts were continuing to revive and implement the understanding.
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The defence minister said developments during the previous one and a half months had made the arrangement less effective, but maintained that the MoU remained important for regional peace.
He said the understanding needed to be reinforced and implemented to help prevent further escalation. Referring to tensions involving Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, Asif warned that further escalation could contribute to a wider regional conflict.
