Pakistan says ‘purely defensive’ Mecca accord is open to others
Published Date: August 10, 2026
Published On: South China Morning Post
Pakistan’s foreign minister said a new defence agreement his country signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey was not directed against any country and remained open to other nations in the region.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday the agreement – dubbed the Mecca accord – was “purely defensive in nature” and that other countries could join if they were willing to uphold its principles and resolve differences through peaceful means, adding the deal reflected a shared desire to strengthen strategic security cooperation.
His social media post came a day after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan similarly said the agreement was not aimed at Iran or any other country.
The agreement stipulates “that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all”, according to statements released by the three sides. Dar said in his post the stipulation was consistent with the right of individual and collective self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Pakistan, he said, would continue working with countries across the region towards lasting peace and stability. “The Makkah Accord does not abrogate or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral agreements between these countries, or with other countries or organisations,” he wrote.
Fidan told state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview late on Saturday the pact could be expanded to include other regional states. “I believe that in the next stage, Egypt will also be among us. There are a few technical matters there. Once those are implemented, there is no reason for Egypt not to be included as well.”
Egypt’s accession would add one of the biggest militaries in the Middle East to the alliance and another key Sunni Muslim-majority state in the region. Officials at Egypt’s Foreign Ministry were not immediately available for comment.
Pakistan’s participation showed the alliance’s scope was regional and “much broader” than the Middle East, Fidan said. “In our president’s vision, we are not meant to remain limited to three countries anyway; we are meant to grow further.”
Pakistanis celebrated the agreement overnight on Saturday. Landmarks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and Saudi cities were illuminated in the colours of the Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani flags.
The three countries bring significant but differing capabilities to the arrangement. Pakistan has extensive military experience and is the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed country; Saudi Arabia brings substantial economic resources and regional influence; and Nato member Turkey has a large military and an increasingly sophisticated domestic defence industry.
In Islamabad, defence analysts cautioned against viewing the agreement as the equivalent of Nato, despite its collective-defence provision. Abdullah Khan, an Islamabad-based defence analyst, said that although the agreement was signed during a period of heightened regional tensions, it should not be interpreted as being directed against Iran or another country.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close military ties for decades and signed a separate mutual-defence agreement in September last year. Pakistan and Turkey also have expanded military and defence-industrial cooperation in recent years.