Pakistan Rules Out Military Response to Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia, For Now
Islamabad says no military action is under discussion under its Mecca defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but pledged to act "when the time comes."
ISLAMABAD, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Thursday that there were no discussions about a military reaction from Islamabad under the Mecca agreement in response to the Houthis' attacks on Saudi Arabia, but added that Pakistan would act when the "time comes".
"There is no such thing under discussion right now ... When time comes (we) will act under the agreement," Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at a weekly media briefing, in response to a question asking how Islamabad planned to fulfil its obligations under the joint defence accord signed with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The joint defence agreement signed last month stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all of them.
The question arose after Iran-backed Houthis struck Saudi cities and energy infrastructure this week, continuing attacks that by Thursday had become a second theatre of war in the Middle East.
Reuters reported that Islamabad has warned Iran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies after they stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan, which has also been mediating the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, condemned these attacks but provided no details on how it might respond under the terms of its defence pact.
Khan also said that there were no plans to expand the Mecca alliance, as Washington struggles to contain the regional upheaval that has also disrupted global energy supplies.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Writing by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh and Alex Richardson)
