The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office condemned a fresh wave of Houthi missile and drone strikes that hit Saudi Arabian targets on Monday, saying the attacks underscored the urgency of the trilateral Makkah defence pact – a security framework linking Pakistan, Turkey and the Kingdom – but warned that the arrangement still required more time before it could become fully operational.
Background
The Yemeni Houthi movement has stepped up its missile and unmanned‑aerial‑vehicle campaign against Saudi Arabia since the start of the year, claiming to retaliate against Riyadh’s participation in the coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. Over the past month the group has launched several projectiles toward the Saudi Red Sea coast and the oil‑rich eastern region, prompting heightened alerts across the Gulf and drawing condemnation from Western capitals.
In response, the United Kingdom announced a three‑country defence cooperation known as the “Makkah pact,” signed earlier this year by senior officials from Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The agreement is intended to pool intelligence, coordinate naval patrols in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and develop joint response mechanisms against threats to commercial shipping and critical infrastructure. While the pact signals a deepening strategic alignment among the three states, the UK’s Foreign Office spokesperson clarified that key operational components – such as integrated command centres and rules of engagement for shared assets – remain under negotiation.
At the same time, the British diplomatic mission highlighted a separate, long‑running human‑rights concern: the case of Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik, who remains detained in India. The Foreign Office urged the United Nations and international rights organisations to keep pressure on Delhi, linking broader regional stability to the need for a consistent approach to political freedoms and rule of law.
What it means for Pakistan
For Pakistan, the delayed rollout of the Makkah defence pact carries both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, participation in a formalised security arrangement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey opens avenues for Pakistani naval and air‑force units to train alongside advanced platforms, potentially enhancing the Pakistan Navy’s capability to protect its own maritime trade routes that pass through the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
On the other hand, the postponement means that immediate joint patrols or intelligence‑sharing mechanisms that could help deter further Houthi attacks on Pakistani‑flagged vessels will not be available in the short term. Pakistani commercial shipping firms, many of which rely on the Red Sea corridor for exports of textiles, rice and seafood, may therefore continue to face higher insurance premiums and routing delays until the pact is fully implemented.
What happens next
British officials indicated that additional elements of the defence cooperation – including the establishment of a joint command hub in Jeddah and the integration of Turkish air‑defence assets – are expected to be finalised over the coming months. Observers anticipate that once these structures are in place, Pakistan will be invited to contribute radar and surveillance resources, as well as to partake in coordinated response drills.
Meanwhile, the UK’s call for heightened international scrutiny of Yasin Malik’s detention adds a diplomatic layer to the security discourse. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is likely to monitor the UN’s reaction closely, as any shift in the global narrative on Kashmiri rights could influence Islamabad’s broader engagement with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Western partners on security and economic projects.