Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Pakistan calls Saudi-Turkey defence pact 'purely defensive', open to region
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed a special agreement to help protect each other.
If one of the three countries is attacked, the other two will treat it like an attack on themselves.
Pakistan's foreign minister said the agreement is purely for defence.
He said it is not meant to hurt any other country.
Other countries in the region can join if they promise to solve problems peacefully.
Turkey's foreign minister also said the agreement is not aimed at Iran.
The agreement was signed at a time when there is a lot of tension in West Asia.
Pakistan is also trying to help the United States and Iran talk to each other.
Some experts said people should not compare this agreement to NATO.
Pakistan's leaders said they want peace and safety for everyone in the region.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement 'purely defensive' and not targeted against any country.
The pact was signed Friday in Mecca by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Under the pact, an armed attack against any one signatory is treated as an attack against all three, consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Dar said the accord remains open to regional countries willing to uphold its principles and resolve differences through peaceful means.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the pact is not aimed at Iran, while Islamabad-based analysts cautioned against equating it with NATO.
- Who
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, represented by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Foreign Ministers Ishaq Dar and Hakan Fidan made statements about the pact.
- What
- Signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a mutual defence pact under which an armed attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all three.
- When
- The agreement was signed on Friday; Dar's statement came on Sunday, a day after Fidan's comments.
- Where
- Al-Safa Palace in Mecca (Makkah), Saudi Arabia.
- Why
- To strengthen strategic security cooperation and contribute to peace and stability in the wider region amid heightened West Asia tensions.
Officials
Defence Analysts
Nature of the agreement
Officials
The Makkah Accord is purely defensive, aimed at peace, stability and prosperity, and not targeted against any country.
Defence Analysts
Despite its collective-defence provision, the pact should not be equated with NATO, and analysts caution against interpreting it as directed against any country.
Intent towards Iran
Officials
Pakistani and Turkish officials insist the agreement is not aimed at Iran or any other country.
Defence Analysts
The pact was signed amid heightened West Asia tensions that have raised Gulf security concerns, so analysts caution that it should not be read as directed against Iran despite the timing.
- Agreement
- Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (Makkah Accord)
- Signatories
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
- Signing location
- Al-Safa Palace, Mecca
- Key provision
- Armed attack on one signatory treated as attack on all three
- Legal basis
- Article 51 of the UN Charter
- Signatory leaders
- Shehbaz Sharif, Mohammed bin Salman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- Earlier Pakistan-Saudi pact
- Separate mutual defence agreement signed in September 2025
- Regional context
- Conflict across West Asia, including the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait