Pakistan has agreed to rapidly deploy additional military forces to Saudi Arabia under a defence arrangement without a parliamentary vote, marking a departure from its 2015 decision to stay out of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. The move highlights the growing influence of the military over the country's foreign policy under Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to a Reuters report.
The defence arrangement was activated for the first time on Monday, following an August agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as the kingdom faces escalating attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group. Pakistan had initially held back from joining the Yemen conflict, even as the Houthis expanded their influence around the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key route for oil shipments.
