Says the agreement ‘entirely for defensive purposes’, stressing that it is not intended for aggression
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: APP/ File
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said the Makkah Defence Agreement was an extension of the bilateral defence pact signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year.
Last year, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement”, declaring that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”. The pact was signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister recalled that he, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had signed the agreement in Makkah, saying that the agreement was aimed at strengthening defence cooperation among the three countries.
He said the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was “entirely for defensive purposes”, stressing that it was not intended for aggression.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye formalised their longstanding strategic relationship through the newly signed “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement”, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.
The agreement, signed during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, has prompted comparisons with military alliances such as NATO. However, according to security analysts, the pact is intended to formalise decades of existing strategic cooperation rather than create a new military bloc or offensive alliance.
This story is being updated.
