ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military has said that the Makkah defense alliance member states would use “all means” if deterrence failed, signaling a readiness to take further action to address security threats facing Saudi Arabia.

The development comes amid repeated missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia against the Kingdom, which have killed over a dozen people and injured several others, raising concerns about the widening regional impact of the United States-Iran conflict.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in the Saudi holy city on Aug. 7, 2026, committing to treat an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. The defense pact marks one of the region’s most significant new collective security arrangements.

In an interview with Independent Arabia on Sunday, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry reiterated that the trilateral alliance is defensive in its nature but said that it conveys “a very strong and clear message to those elements of instability or chaos in the region.”

“It gives a very strong and clear message to those elements of instability, of chaos in the region that if you directly or indirectly wage this war against any of these three countries, then the response will be collective,” the military spokesman said.

“So hopefully that deterrence works. If that deterrence doesn’t work, then that deterrence has to be reestablished by all the means that are available to the three countries.”

The comments came as a Houthi projectile hit a residential area in Saudi Arabia’s Najran city, injuring six people as well as damaging three homes and three vehicles, according to a Civil Defense spokesperson.

Pakistan, which also signed a bilateral defense agreement with Saudi Arabia in September 2025, has warned the Houthis against attacking the Kingdom in recent statements.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan stands firmly with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, defense and regional security under the Makkah defense agreement.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif earlier said that all of his country’s resources were at Saudi Arabia’s disposal to help protect Islam’s holiest sites in the Kingdom.

“I believe it is our responsibility to protect them and make all our resources available to them,” Asif said in comments to a private broadcaster.

“They are being provided currently and in every stage going forward, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Saudi brothers to defend their land against the enemies of Saudi Arabia.”

Earlier this month, Lt. Gen. Chaudhry confirmed the presence of Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia as part of the Makkah trilateral defense alliance.

“I can confirm that we, the forces of Pakistan, are already there [in the Kingdom]. That I can assure you,” he said in an interview with CNN.

“Yeah, Pakistani troops have been there for decades, in multiple capabilities. They have been there for decades in Saudi Arabia,” he said, when asked if Pakistani military personnel were deployed in the Kingdom under the Makkah defense pact.