Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have activated the Makkah defence pact amid renewed Houthi attacks. Touted as a “Muslim NATO”, the pact faces questions over whether its members share enough strategic interests for a NATO-style collective response. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey moved to activate their Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on Monday (6 October), announcing steps to prepare and deploy military forces and defence assets to Saudi Arabia amid renewed Houthi attacks.