Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye Hold First Makkah Defence Pact Meeting in Istanbul
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye held the first committee meeting under their Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul on Monday, bringing together foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries to deepen trilateral strategic and defence cooperation.
Who attended
Pakistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. Representing Türkiye were Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu; Saudi Arabia was represented by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili. A Turkish foreign ministry source said the meeting discussed international security issues, enhancing defence capabilities, greater interoperability among the armed forces and cooperation in the defence industry, including joint production and development.
The pact and its context
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7 by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, treats an armed attack against any one of the three countries as an attack on all of them — similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective-defence clause. Bangladesh has already shown interest in joining the pact. Earlier this month, the three countries convened an emergency meeting under the pact and agreed to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia, against the backdrop of Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Field Marshal Munir separately met the new Saudi envoy at GHQ in Rawalpindi on Monday; the ISPR said both sides expressed satisfaction at the progress made under the pact and reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Pakistan’s message to Riyadh
In an interview aired on Sunday with Independent Arabia, military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan was providing “whatever support is needed” to defend Saudi Arabia amid the Houthi attacks, calling the safety of the Haramain al-Sharifain “paramount” and “non-negotiable”. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also signed a separate bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement aimed at collective deterrence.
Sources: Dawn, Minute Mirror, Pak Souch (October 19, 2026). All claims are attributed to the officials and outlets cited above.