Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye sign defence pact amid conflict in West Asia

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on Friday signed a joint defence agreement on Friday, amid the conflict in West Asia.

India said that it was “closely following” the new defence pact.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, is aimed at “strengthening collective deterrence” and states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all.

It also seeks to enhance defence cooperation among the three countries and promote peace, security and stability in the region and beyond.

However, the agreement does not specify detailed military commitments or obligations that have been accepted, Reuters reported.

An unidentified Turkish official told the news agency that the pact was “purely defensive in nature” and was not directed against any particular country.

The official added that the pact was open to other regional countries and would not replace existing bilateral or multilateral defence arrangements.

The agreement was signed by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The agreement came against the backdrop of heightened tensions in West Asia amid conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

The agreement brings together three major Sunni Muslim-majority states: Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s strongest economy, one of the world’s top oil exporters and home to Islam’s holiest sites, Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country and Türkiye, which has North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s second-largest military.

The pact...

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