Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye meet: What’s next for their defence pact?

What the report says

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have begun formal work to turn their new mutual-defence agreement into an operating framework, holding a committee meeting in Istanbul on Monday, according to Al Jazeera. The three countries said the pact will be called the Mecca Defence Alliance, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a secretariat has already been set up in Riyadh, with a Pakistani official expected to serve as its first secretary-general.

The meeting brought together senior political and military figures from all three states, including Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal Asim Munir and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif; Turkiye’s Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and top military leadership; and Saudi Arabia’s foreign and defence ministers. Officials said the agenda included military interoperability, joint exercises, defence-industrial cooperation and counterterrorism coordination. The pact, signed in Mecca on August 7, states that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all, but its practical triggers and command structure remain undefined.

The discussions took place amid renewed US-Iran strikes, which Al Jazeera said are testing the pact’s purpose and regional implications. Pakistan has also been trying to mediate between Washington and Tehran, including through recent visits by Munir to Iran. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said the alliance’s durability will depend on whether it develops institutions, secretariat functions and joint projects that outlast the current escalation.

The report noted that the pact is still under development and that its full terms may not be public until ratification processes are completed. It also said observers are watching whether other regional states could join later, though no new member was announced on Monday.