WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — US President Donald Trump has welcomed the decision by Pakistan and Türkiye to provide military support to Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Alliance, saying he thinks “that’s great.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday before leaving for Texas, Trump was asked about the decision by Türkiye and Pakistan to send military forces to Saudi Arabia under the alliance. “I think they want to help Saudi Arabia, and I think that’s great,” he replied, according to TRT World. In the remarks reported, he did not elaborate or say what, if anything, the United States would do in support.
The Makkah Alliance for Defense was set up in August by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye. At an emergency meeting in Riyadh on 5 October, its Strategic Political and Defense Committee decided to “move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments” and to “take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the Parties.” The joint statement gave no numbers, units or timeline.
Pakistan’s military has since said it already has forces in the kingdom. Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN: “I can confirm that we, the forces of Pakistan, are already there. Pakistani troops have been in Saudi Arabia for decades.” He described a long-standing presence and did not announce a new deployment.
Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, on Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Defence Alliance:
"I can confirm that we, the forces of Pakistan, are already there. Pakistani troops have been in Saudi Arabia for decades."
video: CNN pic.twitter.com/GkOlZS2QTL
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) October 7, 2026
The Riyadh meeting followed a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia, including an attempted drone attack on Makkah in September and a drone strike on 29 September on a power station supplying the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Saudi Arabia and the coalition it leads in Yemen have attributed the attacks to the Houthis.
Pakistan’s delegation to the Riyadh meeting, according to the Foreign Office, included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The committee also appointed Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood of Pakistan as the alliance’s first Secretary-General for a three-year term.
