Pakistan’s military says the defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey could be opened to other countries, while insisting that the pact is defensive and does not target Iran.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s army, discussed the agreement in an interview with Al Arabiya. He said additional countries could join if they shared the three founding countries’ approach to non-aggression, non-interference and collective deterrence. Any decision about expanding the alliance would be made by the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, Chaudhry said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military is working hard to clarify exactly what its newly formed defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey actually means, insisting the pact has “no regional aspirations” even as pressure mounts to explain how it would function if one of its members were attacked.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan’s inter-services public relations, told Al Arabiya that the agreement, known as the Mecca Defence Alliance, is strictly defensive in nature and complements the existing alliances and relationships each of the three countries already maintains.
“It is defensive. There’s nothing aggressive. There are no regional aspirations. It is collective deterrence,” Chaudhry said.
The timing of these clarifications isn’t a coincidence. The pact is now facing scrutiny as tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces, raising real questions about whether Riyadh has requested military support from Islamabad, and if so, how Pakistan would actually respond.
The agreement was formally signed on August 7 and states that an attack on any one member would be treated as an attack on all three. Pakistan has also agreed to lead the alliance’s secretariat for an initial three-year term.
Pakistan rejects idea of Muslim military bloc
Chaudhry rejected the description of the agreement as the beginning of a wider Muslim military alliance. He said the agreement did not contain anything identifying it as a Muslim alliance. Instead, he described it as a regional stability arrangement.
According to Chaudhry, the pact brings formal structure to the longstanding strategic ties among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey. He said its central purpose was collective deterrence.
The army spokesperson also stressed that the agreement contained no offensive or aggressive provisions and was not designed for interference in other countries.
Islamabad says Iran ties remain separate
Chaudhry said the agreement would not change Pakistan’s relationship with Iran. He explained that Islamabad manages its relationships with different countries separately. He gave Pakistan’s ties with the United States as an example, saying those ties did not come at the expense of relations with Iran or China.
He added that Pakistan’s partnerships with other countries were based on mutual benefit and the interests of each relationship.
Mediation efforts continue
Pakistan, Chaudhry claimed, is also trying to help prevent the conflict between Iran and the United States from becoming wider. Chaudhry said Pakistan’s political and military leaders had been communicating with all sides. Their aim, he said, was to support efforts to stop the conflict from spreading and encourage a settlement through negotiations.