For years, Pakistan maintained an extraordinary  military relationship with Saudi Arabia while carefully avoiding one commitment, ie, boots on the ground in Yemen. When Riyadh intervened against the Houthis in 2015, Pakistan’s Parliament called for neutrality. Islamabad continued training and deploying personnel to Saudi Arabia and made clear that it would defend the Kingdom against threats to its territory, but it would not become a combatant in Yemen. The recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement may have changed that equation. Signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on  August 7,  2026, the agreement provides that an armed attack against one member is to be regarded as an attack against all. Islamabad has described it as a defensive arrangement and linked it to the right of collective self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The crucial question now is whether Pakistan is actually preparing the political, public and institutional ground for acting on that commitment. From solidarity to military coordination, the recent change in language is striking. As recently as September 10, Pakistan said that no military response under the Makkah pact had been discussed following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Since then, the rhetoric has moved considerably further. Pakistan condemned a reported Houthi attack directed towards Makkah as a........

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