Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence agreement under which an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be treated as an attack on all. The pact was signed amid rising security concerns linked to escalating tensions in West Asia.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement after the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca, according to a joint statement. The statement said the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and to improve all aspects of defence cooperation among the three countries.
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The statement said the pact reflected ‘the three States’ shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future’. The agreement brings together Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim country, Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites and one of the world’s top oil exporters, and Turkiye, a NATO member.
Erdogan said the tripartite pact is ‘not against any country’. In a post on X, he said the agreement, ‘based on collective deterrence, will contribute to advancing our security and defence cooperation, developing joint projects in the defence industry, and combating terrorism’. He added that it ‘targets no country and is open to the participation of all brotherly countries that aim for the peace, prosperity, and stability of our region’. Sharif also welcomed the agreement and said on X: ‘May this historic pact, signed in the shadow of the Haramain (holy mosque), remain a shield of peace for generations to come and may it bring prosperity for our three brotherly countries…’
The development comes as the conflict in West Asia has spread across several fronts, including the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, leading Gulf states to step up regional security coordination. During the ongoing war, Iran launched multiple attacks on Gulf countries hosting US bases and warned them against allowing their territory to be used for American attacks on Iran. Pakistan, which played a mediatory role between the US and Iran, said last week it is ‘doing its utmost’ to bring them back to the negotiating table under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 18.
Last week, Saudi Arabia proposed a Multinational Maritime Defence Coalition to protect commercial shipping lanes and key energy routes through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait after Saudi ships came under attack from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Reports said 14 countries, including Pakistan, supported the initiative. Tensions between Turkiye and Israel have also risen in recent months over Gaza and Syria, with an Israeli minister saying Erdogan should ‘sit quietly and remain silent’.
In September last year, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence agreement under which any attack on either side would be treated as an ‘act of aggression against both’. Under that framework, Pakistan deployed military personnel and aircraft to Saudi Arabia for joint training, defence cooperation and the kingdom’s security requirements.
The joint statement said Friday’s summit reviewed the ‘distinguished relations’ between the three countries ‘along with a number of issues of mutual interest’. It said the pact is ‘guided by the longstanding historical ties among the three states, based on the enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity that unite them, and building upon their shared strategic interests and longstanding defence cooperation’. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said the agreement marked an important milestone in defence cooperation and showed a shared desire to coordinate efforts to address challenges and threats affecting regional security and stability.
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said on X that the agreement ‘does not constitute a threat to the security of any country in the region, nor does it represent an escalation of tensions between any two states’. He added: ‘The agreement does not represent an effort to establish a military axis or a sectarian bloc. Nor is it linked to any nuclear ambitions or arms race, rather it is focused on building sustainable capabilities.’
Before the summit, Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on a three-day official visit on Thursday, met the Saudi crown prince, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Sharif was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, among others. Sharif, Mohammed and Erdogan also offered Friday prayers at Qasr Al-Safa, along with Dar, Munir and senior Saudi and Turkish officials. Ahead of the visit, Pakistan’s Foreign Office had said it would strengthen bilateral relations, deepen strategic cooperation, improve coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest, and reinforce multilateral cooperation.
The agreement signed in Mecca places Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in a joint defence framework at a time of heightened regional tension, while all three countries have said it is aimed at collective security and broader defence cooperation rather than targeting any state.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
