ISL AMABAD / RIYADH: Characterising the Makkah Defence Alliance as a `historic` milestone for peace, unity and stability in the region, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan`s `unwavering commitment` to the protection of Saudi Arabia`s `sovereignty, territorial integrity and security`.

The statement came as powerful explosions rattled the Saudi capital, hours after a Houthi strike hit a building in the area housing energy giant Aramco`s operations centre, in a freshescalation of the war between the kingdom and the Yemeni rebel group.

Most strikes on Saudi Arabia have targeted infrastructure onthe outskirts of the capital, but the barrages appear to be getting closer to the city centre.

In the city`s downtown, residents have been seenparking their cars to stop and look up at the sky, an AFP journalist said.

On Tuesday night, the white plumes of air defence missiles could be seen streaking across the sky followed by explosions.

While walking down a major avenue, a witness told AFP he `saw a projectile cutting across the sky` above amall, saying it left `a yellowish trail of light followed by a trail of smoke. Then, we heard an explosion`.

`People were calm; no one was speaking. We were scared and alllooking up at the sky,` he added, requesting anonymity.

More blasts were heard on Wednesday, AFP journalists in Riyadh reported, as messages were received on phones warning of an `aerial threat` and urging people to take shelter.

The alert was lifted a few minutes later.

A Saudi energy ministry official said a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran was struck on Tuesday, resulting in a `limited fire` but `no casualties or fatalities`.

Dhahran is home to Aramco`s headquarters, a vast complex comprising several buildings and residential compounds.

In Riyadh, the civil defence agency said four people two women, a man and a child were wounded by debris from two intercepted Houthi cruise missiles and that 15 homes were damaged. The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, struck oil sites across western Yemen, with spokesman Turki Al-Malki saying the attacks targeted facilities used to supply the Houthis` effort to `threaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and waterways`.

An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported an explosion, while a breaking news alert on the Houthiaffiliated Al-Masirah channel said Saudi forces had targeted an oil firm.

Many civilians in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, fearing shortages, have rushed to queue in front of fuel stations.

Several countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens in Saudi Arabia, with France telling its nationals on Tuesday to avoid Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports.

`Shoulder to shoulder` In a meeting with the newly appointed secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance, retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood, PM Shehbaz was briefed on the strategy to promote `defence and strategic cooperation` under the pact.

Mahmood was appointed as the first secretary general of the defence alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye last month. The agreement signed on Aug 7 empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all.

The premier reiterated that the pact was a `historic milestone for peace, unity, and stability in the region` and wished the secretary general well for his new role as Saudi Arabia, which is a signatory to the pact, has faced escalating tensions with Yemen`s Houthi rebels in recent days. The PM said that Pakistan `stands shoulder to shoulder` with Saudi Arabia.-Syed Irfan Raza/Agencies