Pakistani military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has confirmed that Pakistani forces are deployed on the ground in Saudi Arabia across multiple operational domains, serving under long-standing bilateral arrangements and the recently established Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
In an interview with CNN, Chaudhry stated that the presence of Pakistani armed forces in the Kingdom is firmly established rather than novel, pointing out that military personnel have maintained continuous operations alongside Saudi counterparts for decades.
"I can confirm that we, the forces of Pakistan, are already there [in the Kingdom]. That I can share (with) you," Chaudhry said when questioned about deployments under the mutual defence alliance.
"Pakistani troops have been there for decades, and multiple capabilities have been there for decades in Saudi Arabia. As I said, this Mecca Alliance is not something that has come out in a vacuum. There is a sustained diplomatic, political, military relationship, people-to-people relationship between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. So I can share with you that the Pakistani forces in multiple capabilities and domains are already there."
Trilateral coordination
The spokesman's remarks follow a session of the Strategic-Political and Defence Committee of the Mecca Alliance for Defence held in Riyadh on 5 October, where officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye convened to address urgent security developments and threats directed at the Kingdom.
The meeting followed a series of drone and missile strikes by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeting civilian and economic infrastructure across Saudi territory.
During the Riyadh talks, officials reaffirmed their shared rejection of attacks against the Kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Under an earlier bilateral agreement signed in September last year, Islamabad dispatched 8,000 troops, a fighter squadron, and air defence batteries to reinforce the Kingdom.
