Mutual defence: The alliances that preceded Turkiye-Pakistan-Saudi pact

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye signed a joint defence agreement in September 2026, with each side treating an armed attack on one of the three as an attack on all. According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry and Turkey’s defence ministry, the arrangement is intended to formalise military cooperation and place ties on a more durable footing.

The Turkish defence ministry said the pact includes plans for joint military exercises and closer work between the countries’ defence industries. It also said new coordination channels are expected to involve defence ministers, foreign ministers and military chiefs. The article places the agreement against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the Middle East and notes that the three states are among the region’s and the wider Muslim world’s major political and economic powers.

The report says the pact followed visits by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir to Saudi Arabia, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to the kingdom to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Turkiye also said the agreement could be expanded in future and was not meant to replace existing alliances.

Al Jazeera then compares the new arrangement with older mutual defence frameworks such as NATO, the Arab League’s treaty, the GCC’s Peninsula Shield Force and other bilateral security pacts. As background, such agreements often aim to deter attacks and signal political alignment, though their practical record can vary depending on the conflict.