ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey and Pakistan on Monday announced that they will deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia to support their ally in Riyadh amid an ongoing military campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The announcement comes after a high-level emergency meeting of Saudi, Turkish, and Pakistani military chiefs and foreign ministers in Riyadh, after which the three parties issued a joint statement asserting that the latter two nations have agreed "to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom."

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inked the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7 in Jeddah, amid escalating regional tensions that have increasingly affected Saudi Arabia, including attacks against the kingdom during the US-Iran war.

Saudi security matters took a turn for the worse in the past month after a Houthi military offensive in Yemen saw the Iran-backed group seize large swathes of coastline along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Operation Dawn of Yemen, a large-scale military offensive to retake the capital Sanaa and end Houthi control, was announced by Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi on Sunday, marking a major counteroffensive on the part of Riyadh and its allies.

"The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Turkey commended the vigilance and readiness of the Saudi Armed Forces, as well as the professionalism and high level of competence they have demonstrated in countering the threats and attacks facing the Kingdom and in safeguarding its security and territorial integrity," the joint statement noted. 

Both Ankara and Islamabad had previously ruled out the notion of militarily intervening in the conflict, with Monday's announcement drastically bolstering the Saudi strategic equilibrium amid the ongoing offensive.