Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that even if the Makkah Agreement is not in place, protecting the holy sites is our duty, adding that he believes the situation has reached a point where the Makkah Agreement needs to be implemented.
Speaking in the programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Khawaja Asif said that if Makkah were attacked, there would be no need for an agreement to protect it.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the Makkah Agreement applies to Pakistan and that Pakistan would fulfil its duty. He said he could not go into details but added that Pakistan was bound to implement the Makkah Agreement.
Khawaja Asif said he did not think Iran, as a state, would open a new front in the region, adding that Pakistan had conveyed Saudi Arabia’s message to Iran.
He said that even if the Makkah Agreement did not exist, protecting the holy sites was Pakistan’s duty, adding that he believed the situation had reached a point where the Makkah Agreement needed to be implemented.
It should be noted that the Saudi military coalition said that its air defence system had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone that attempted to enter the airspace of Makkah. According to the Saudi military coalition, the drone was intercepted before entering the restricted airspace around Makkah.
The Saudi military coalition said that the protection of the two holy mosques was a red line and that the military coalition would take necessary measures against the Houthis.
Saudi coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Malki said in a statement that this was the second attempt by the Houthis to target Makkah. Earlier, a ballistic missile had also been launched towards Makkah in July 2017.
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