Mecca pact: Pakistan and Turkey have answered Saudi Arabia’s call for help – but don’t expect them to fight the Houthis

By M Waqas Haider, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Staffordshire

Within two months of it being signed, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan invoked the Mecca mutual defence pact in response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel forces.

The three countries agreed on October 5 to activate what Saudi defence minister Khalid bin Salman called collective deterrence measures against the Houthis. Islamabad and Ankara have undertaken to provide “agreed military forces and capabilities” and ensure their rapid deployment to the…

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