DG ISPR Confirms Pakistani Troops in Saudi Arabia in Multiple Roles
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has confirmed that Pakistani military personnel are present in Saudi Arabia in multiple capacities.
Speaking in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, the military spokesperson said Pakistani troops had been stationed in the kingdom for decades and were serving in different roles.
He was asked whether Pakistani forces were present in Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
The DG ISPR said Pakistan’s military presence in Saudi Arabia was not a new development linked solely to the recently signed agreement. He explained that the three countries have maintained longstanding diplomatic, political, military and people-to-people ties.
He further said Pakistani forces were present in multiple domains in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye formally established the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The framework is aimed at strengthening defence cooperation, collective deterrence and regional security.
The agreement has gained increased attention amid the latest security situation involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.
Earlier, a joint statement said the alliance had moved towards practical implementation of its collective defence commitments, including the deployment of agreed military capabilities to Saudi Arabia in response to security threats.
The decision followed an emergency meeting of the alliance’s Strategic-Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh, where the security situation facing Saudi Arabia was discussed.
However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected what it described as speculative reports regarding the operational details of the agreement. The ministry said specific information concerning the implementation of the collective defence mechanism remained confidential.
A Reuters report had earlier claimed that Pakistan deployed between 30,000 and 40,000 troops to Saudi Arabia to help protect the kingdom’s borders and assist with defence against drones and missiles. The report also said Islamabad had not decided to deploy Pakistani troops into Yemen for combat operations.
Pakistan has not publicly confirmed the specific troop numbers or operational details mentioned in that report.
