PAKISTAN, TURKEY AND SAUDI ARABIA PLAN URGENT DEFENCE TALKS

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will discuss assisting Riyadh under a joint defence pact and are arranging an urgent meeting of their military chiefs, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Friday. Turkey's Defence Ministry confirmed that General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, chief of the general staff, will travel to Saudi Arabia. Pakistan's chief of defence forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is also expected to arrive in Riyadh soon, though Pakistan's military media wing did not confirm whether he had departed. The talks follow a Saudi request for the three countries' military chiefs to convene amid weeks of Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory.

The Houthis said on Thursday they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets, including a claimed strike on what they called a "sensitive target" in Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Saudi authorities said their air defences intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu, and issued emergency alerts for Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu. The cooperation stems from the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 7 August, under which an attack on Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Pakistan is treated as an attack on all three. Saudi Arabia's King Salman criticised the targeting of Mecca by the Houthis, according to Al Jazeera.

The planned meeting of military chiefs marks an early test of the Mecca pact since its signing last month. Turkey's defence ministry has confirmed its top military officer is travelling to Riyadh, while confirmation of Pakistan's chief of defence forces reaching the Saudi capital remained outstanding at the time of reporting. Saudi Arabia has continued to seek support from regional allies as it responds to the escalating Houthi attacks. Further details on the outcome of the military chiefs' talks were not yet available.