The Verdict | The Mecca Agreement is under scrutiny as Houthis attack Saudis
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "The Verdict | The Mecca Agreement is under scrutiny as Houthis attack Saudis")
This handout photograph taken and released by Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office on August 7, 2026 shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signing the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Photograph: (AFP)
The Mecca Defence Pact faces scrutiny as Houthi attacks target Saudi Arabia while Pakistan has not mounted a military response.
Pakistan signed the Mecca Defence Pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye with a very clear promise: an armed attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all three. So here's an uncomfortable question for Field Marshal Asim Munir: what is the impact of this pact?
Where is this pact when the Saudis are being attacked by Houthis?
Saudi Arabia is facing repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks. Riyadh has been seeking additional military assistance.
And what's Pakistan's response?
They condemned it. They called for restraint.
But no military response under the Mecca Pact.
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And here's Munir's rather weak reason for not getting involved: the agreement still needs mechanisms and frameworks before its operationalised.
That creates an awkward little problem: if an attack on one is an attack on all, when exactly does "all" actually mean all?
There is another irony Pakistan cannot escape. While presenting itself as a pillar of regional security, Pakistan is killing civilians in Afghanistan.
Just today, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, killing 3 locals.
Was the Mecca Pact designed as a defence alliance or as a diplomatic declaration that sounds strongest before the first shot is fired?
Alliances are ultimately tested not by signatures, ceremonies or speeches. They are tested when an ally calls for help.
The Mecca Pact is being tested by reality, and it seems to be failing so far.
