Pakistan pledges full committment to defence of Saudi Arabia

A senior officer from Pakistan’s military has pledged that his country will defend Saudi Arabia against aggression “to any extent”.Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director-general of the Pakistani military’s media wing, told the Saudi newspaper Arab News on Thursday that Islamabad stands with Saudi Arabia diplomatically and physically.The promise comes as questions swirl about the stance of Pakistan and Turkiye – both of which signed defence pacts with Riyadh recently – as Yemen’s Houthis intensify their attacks on Saudi Arabia.“I would like to underscore here the word ‘physically’,” Chaudhry said. “We will go to any extent.”Pakistani forces are already deployed to protect the kingdom and Islam’s two holiest sites, in Mecca and Medina, he added.“We are there to protect them, and we will go to any extent further as required by the Saudi leadership and the people of Saudi Arabia.”However, he did not say whether Riyadh had requested more Pakistani troops or direct involvement against the Houthis.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Jeddah on April 14, days after Pakistan deployed additional military resources to the ki...