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Mecca Pact is an alliance of unequals. Pakistan’s silence on the attacks by Houthis shows why

The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have exposed a fundamental weakness of the Mecca Pact: its members may share a faith, but they do not necessarily share a threat perception.

Iran-backed Houthis have continued to attack Saudi Arabia’s southern cities since 8 September, attracting regional responses condemning the attacks. Neighbouring Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria, Türkiye, India, and Pakistan, as well as key European partners— France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom—have expressed anguish.

Interestingly, the US has not issued a substantial response on whether it will become directly involved. Perhaps Washington, DC, is not willing to open another front amid ongoing conflict with Iran.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes on Houthi strongholds in the Red Sea. What is actually more surprising is the response of countries like Pakistan, which, first, is a regional ally of Saudi Arabia and relies on Saudi assistance and remittances, and, second, more importantly, a signatory to the much-talked-about Mecca Pact, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan on 7 August 2026. The pact is projected to be the most consequential ‘security’ alliance, though its details remain under wraps. However, the backdrop of crisis in the Middle East and the individual capacities of each member country—Saudi’s economic power, Türkiye’s military might, and Pakistan’s Nuclear capability —were supposed to provide the strongest “deterrence against any aggression.”

But has the Mecca Pact passed its crucial test with crisis at hand, where Saudi Arabia is being attacked, or was it all words? 

Pakistan says not a defence alliance, but why?

Soon after the Houthi attacks, questions were raised about whether the Mecca Pact will come into action and whether Pakistan and Türkiye would get involved as a........

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