Pakistan Defense Minister Says Islamabad Will Invoke Mecca Pact After Houthi Drone Incident

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would implement the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement's mutual-defense clause following a Houthi drone operation near Mecca, and flagged concern about disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab affecting Pakistan's economy.

Why this matters. Invocation of the NATO-style Mecca pact by Pakistan (alongside Saudi Arabia and Turkey) could draw a fourth state's military into the Red Sea/Hormuz conflict, widening the shipping-security crisis beyond the Israel-Iran-Hezbollah axis.