Pakistan's foreign ministry announced the signing of the defense agreement, stipulating that an attack on any of the three countries is considered an attack on all. The official confirmation follows earlier reports of the tripartite pact, which formalizes a strategic alignment among the three Muslim powers.
Pakistan's foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday that it has signed a joint defense agreement with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, stipulating that an attack on any of the three countries is considered an attack on all. The announcement marks the first official government confirmation of the pact, which was previously reported by i24NEWS earlier today.
The ministry's statement follows a bulletin from The Zioneer earlier on Saturday citing i24NEWS that the three countries had signed a NATO-style defense arrangement. Later, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declined to specify whether the pact would compel Saudi Arabia and Turkey to join a conflict with India, saying details would be released in due course.
The agreement, often referred to as the 'Mecca Agreement,' formalizes a strategic alignment among the Muslim world's nuclear-armed state (Pakistan), NATO's second-largest military (Turkey), and the Gulf's leading economic power (Saudi Arabia). The Zioneer has reported on the buildup to this pact, including meetings between Pakistani and Saudi leaders in Mecca. The alignment is viewed in the context of rising tensions with Iran, though the text of the agreement has not been publicly released.
The exact terms of the mutual defense clause and the scope of military cooperation remain unspecified. The foreign ministry has not provided further details on implementation or ratification procedures.
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Source and signal
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