Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said any attack on Saudi Arabia could activate the Mecca Defense Alliance, warning aggression against one member would be viewed as an attack on all signatories.
Asif told Geo TV that the pact is defensive rather than offensive and provides for members to respond collectively to an attack on one, urging the Houthis not to draw Saudi Arabia further into Yemen's conflict, Bloomberg reported.
“We’re bound by the terms and conditions of this pact and we’ll honor this pact if there’s aggression. There should be no ambiguity about this,” Asif said.
The Houthis should recognize that their actions “could make this agreement operational,” the minister said.
His comments came as Saudi Arabia halted several energy facilities in its south as the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen claimed fresh strikes on the kingdom.
The trilateral defense agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was signed in Mecca last month.
