No bar in Makkah pact on 'direct involvement': Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Thursday that no stipulation of the Makkah Defence Alliance barred the member states from getting "directly involved" in case of a threat to one of the members.

He said this during a talkshow on private TV channel after he was asked about the possibility of Pakistan sending ground troops to Yemen amid an escalating conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

"To defend one of the member countries, the remaining two would get involved as if they are defending themselves," he added.