Pakistan says Saudi-Turkey defence pact is defensive, not expansionist

Pakistan on Thursday moved to clarify the nature of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Islamabad, Riyadh, and Ankara, emphasizing its defensive character and ruling out near-term expansion of the pact. Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told reporters that the trilateral accord was designed primarily to ensure regional security through collective deterrence mechanisms.

The three nations inked the agreement in Makkah on August 7, establishing a framework for mutual defence under which an armed attack on any signatory would be treated as an attack on all three. The pact includes provisions allowing member states to activate collective defence responses in case of aggression or regional spillover threats.

Khan's clarification followed comments by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who had outlined scenarios that could trigger the agreement's collective-defence provisions, including unprovoked aggression against any member state or escalation of the Yemen conflict into Saudi territory. Pakistan's defence establishment had previously signalled that such contingencies could invoke the trilateral pact's mutual protection clauses.

The announcement underscores Pakistan's effort to position the alliance as a regional stabilization measure rather than a vehicle for expanding military partnerships, addressing potential concerns among other South Asian stakeholders about the scope and implications of the security arrangement.