Any direct or indirect attack on Makkah alliance member state will trigger 'collective response': DG ISPR

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) said that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) was purely defensive in nature and "has no offensive intent", warning that any direct or indirect attack on any of its three member states would trigger a collective response.

"So once you have this collective deterrence, what it does is that it gives a very strong and clear message to those elements of instability, of chaos in the region, that if you directly or indirectly wage this war against any of these three countries, then the response will be collective," Chaudhry said during an interview with Independent Arabia.

Chaudhry also reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to Saudi Arabia's sovereignty and the security of the holy mosques, saying, "Saudi Arabia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of the two holy mosques are non-negotiable and non-compromise."

"The Saudis' sovereignty and territorial integrity, security, and foremost, the security of the Haramain Sharifain is paramount. It's non-negotiable. It's absolute as far as Pakistan is concerned. So once we say that, whatever support is needed to do that is being provided and will be provided,"

He also stressed that Pakistan was "providing Saudi Arabia with the necessary military support and is prepared to employ all available means," the agency wrote.

Regarding the possibility of providing direct military support to the Yemeni government, Chaudhry said that he didn't know whether Islamabad had received an official request, but noted that Pakistan would "study any request submitted to it and make the appropriate decision regarding it."

This is a developing story...