Shehbaz Sharif speaks as Islamabad, Riyadh and Ankara army chiefs meet to discuss the Mecca pact and closer military ties.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, warning that any threat to the sanctity of the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina crosses a “red line that must never be crossed.”
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sharif described the Houthi attacks as “deplorable,” stating that any action targeting Mecca “outraged Muslims across the globe.” The Iran-aligned Yemeni group has dismissed these accusations as a “heinous lie.”
Last month, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye signed a trilateral defence pact, formally known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. Under this pact, an attack on any member is treated as an attack on all. However, Islamabad and Ankara have so far refrained from direct involvement in Riyadh’s ongoing conflict with the Houthis.
The military chiefs of all three nations met in Riyadh on Friday to discuss enhancing intelligence sharing and military coordination. According to the Pakistani military, the chiefs reviewed the regional security situation, affirmed their commitment to collective defence, and pledged to transform the Mecca Agreement’s commitments into effective, practical cooperation.
It remains unclear what specific support Ankara and Islamabad might provide to Riyadh. In a written interview with Newsweek, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that support could encompass “intelligence, logistics or ammunition,” with more extensive military assistance possible depending on the scale of the threat.
Iran and Palestine
In his address to the UN, Sharif also touched upon the conflict involving Iran, as well as Pakistan’s role as a co-mediator in the region.
Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts led to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Washington and Tehran, which aimed to help end the conflict. However, the accord has since unraveled as regional nations seek a definitive conclusion to the war, which has triggered a global energy crisis and heightened tensions across the Middle East.
“Yet amid the roar of missiles, drones and guns, the voice for diplomacy must echo even louder and stronger,” Sharif emphasized.
He highlighted that the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb waterway—both critical to global trade—are “arteries of the global economy” that must remain free and safe.
The Pakistani prime minister also strongly denounced what he described as Israel’s “genocidal agenda” in Palestine, alongside condemning Israeli military actions in Lebanon and Syria. These sentiments were echoed earlier in the day by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during his own UN General Assembly address.
India, Kashmir, Afghanistan
Turning to regional tensions closer to home, Sharif’s speech addressed critical issues with Pakistan’s neighbors.
Criticizing India, Sharif accused New Delhi of weaponizing the Indus waters, which the two nations have jointly managed for over six decades. Both countries heavily depend on this Himalayan river network.
Sharif issued a stern warning that “any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters will be treated as an act of war.”
He also reiterated the call for a “just and fair solution” to the Kashmir dispute, alleging ongoing attempts to “alter the legal status” of the region through demographic engineering.
Another major concern for Islamabad is the threat posed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban. Sharif stated that these groups operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan with the aim of destabilizing Pakistan, insisting that cross-border attacks “must come to a grinding halt.”
This statement comes amid ongoing cross-border clashes, which recently resulted in the deaths of several Afghan Taliban fighters.