Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has cautioned that the tripartite Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could become operational if there was a “spillover” of the conflict in Yemen into Riyadh.

The development comes after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched attacks on oil installations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, injuring 73 people.

Meanwhile, the defence pact, signed on Aug 7, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empower its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

On the Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Tuesday night, host Shahzeb Khanzada mentioned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and asked Asif whether the strategic pact could be operationalised.

Asif answered in the affirmative, saying there was no “ambiguity” as the pact stipulated that aggression against one party was equivalent to aggression against all.

“This is a joint defence pact. And unprovoked aggression or spillover of whatever is happening in Yemen into Saudi Arabia, definitely, the pact will become operational; there should be no doubt in this,” he said.

“We are bound by the terms and conditions of this pact and we will honour them in case there is a need,” he said.

Asked if Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had been in contact following the attacks, Asif said he was not aware of any engagement. However, he reiterated that Pakistan “is bound to react under the pact because it is [aimed at] joint defence and collective help in case of aggression”.

Asif further stated that the pact was not “aggressive in nature”, adding: “If there is aggression against one member state, then all three member states will respond in kind.”

The defence czar went on to say, “This is a trilateral pact [..] but even if it were bilateral, we would have responded.”

At the same time, Asif expressed hope that the situation will “come under control and die down”.

He also hoped that “the Houthis will realise that if [..] they attempt to export their internal matters, then the clauses of this pact over confronting aggression will become operative”.

“They should keep this in mind,” he said. Asif also noted that the Houthis were “non-state actors” and that Yemen’s government had responded to their attacks.

“There is sympathy for Iran around the Muslim world. There is no doubt about that, but exploitation of a bilateral dispute by non-state actors, I believe they are doing it at their own peril,” he said.

Asif observed that the pact could serve as a deterrent and went on to say that three countries “did not need to respond to aggression with aggression”, but held that the member states had established their respective strengths.

The defence minister added that the conflict in Yemen had been ongoing since 2014, recalling a visit he made to the country at the time in his capacity as the defence minister.

“At that time too, we helped Saudi Arabia,” he recalled, adding that Pakistan and Saudi’s long-standing ties and the “sanctity” of the Gulf country’s land “warrant that whenever there are testing times, we help them”.

On the stalemate in negotiations between the United States and Iran, the defence minister voiced optimism that “all doors have not closed”.

“I will not abandon hope that the process has ended or that all doors have closed. There is a stalemate, but I will say the situation is better than that,” he said, adding there was “indirect engagement”.

He noted that Pakistan walked a tightrope given its “brotherly relations” with countries on both sides of the conflict. Hoping that peace would prevail, Asif warned: “Israel will want that the conflict should continue and (Gulf) countries should be drained.”

He said Israel was not incurring any expenses in the war, as the funding “was coming from overseas”.

“In fact, I believe they are profiting off of it,” he said. He noted that people in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon were paying the price for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “lust for power”. However, he went on to note that there was a “silver lining”.

“In the world over, especially Europe, North America, New Zealand, Latin America, there is a sea [of] change in the opinions of people and people want to get rid of the Zionist lobby,” he said.

On Tuesday, the rebel group claimed attacks on four cities in the south of Saudi Arabia, which wounded more than 70 people and set oil installations ablaze. The Houthis said they had fired dozens of ballistic missiles, hitting the southern cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, including Abha International Airport, King Khalid air base, and facilities belonging to state oil giant Aramco.

In response, Saudi Arabia retaliated with strikes on Taiz and Marib provinces, as well as the Jubah district, east of the capital Sanaa. At the time, the Saudi foreign ministry said Riyadh would “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had condemned the Houthi attack and assured Saudi Arabia of Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity”.

“Such dastardly attacks threaten innocent lives as well as regional peace and security. We reaffirm our steadfast support for the kingdom’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and pray for the swift recovery of all those injured,” he said in a post on X.

The Foreign Office also issued a statement condemning the “reprehensible” attacks.