Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey Activate Defense Pact

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have moved to implement their mutual-defence pact after intensified Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory, including airport strikes that killed three people. The pact treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all, and the allies have agreed to arrange the rapid deployment of previously agreed forces and capabilities inside Saudi Arabia; Pakistan says its troops have long been stationed there, but no new arrivals, troop numbers, missions or command structure have been publicly confirmed. The pact’s terms and national laws leave the scope of any response subject to further arrangements. Turkey’s foreign minister has ruled out sending Turkish troops into Yemen for offensive operations, describing Ankara’s role as defensive and potentially involving technical support, equipment or intelligence; Turkey’s opposition says any troop deployment requires parliamentary approval. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed 82 Houthi military targets in Yemen, while the UAE, India and France condemned the airport attacks and voiced support for Saudi Arabia. Analysts warn against the allies being drawn into Yemen’s civil war, and Pakistan faces pressure to support Saudi Arabia while avoiding direct combat, which it declined to join in 2015.