The signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye is a historic development, said Sardar Masood Khan, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, China and the United Nations, and former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir here on Tuesday.
Masood Khan terms Makkah Pact a historic step towards collective deterrence, regional stability
ISLAMABAD, Aug 18 (APP): The signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye is a historic development, said Sardar Masood Khan, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, China and the United Nations, and former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir here on Tuesday.
In a statement issued here, he said the pact was a long-awaited collective defence mechanism for Muslim countries and a significant step towards strengthening regional deterrence and stability.
Khan said Muslim countries had aspired for decades to develop a collective defence mechanism but had been unable to translate that aspiration into a practical arrangement. He said the realisation of vulnerability intensified after Israel’s attack on Palestinian negotiators in Doha last year, prompting Gulf countries to recognise the need for an effective deterrence capability.
He said the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025 subsequently served as the nucleus for the expansion of the mechanism, with Türkiye joining the pact this year while Egypt has also expressed interest in becoming part of it.
Khan emphasised that the Makkah Pact should not be viewed as an attempt to disrupt the existing regional power structure or target any particular country. Rather, he said, its fundamental purpose was defensive with an objective to ensure that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are protected against aggression through collective deterrence.
Masood Khan said the pact was not against any specific country and noted that the United States has welcomed its establishment. He said the agreement sends a strong signal that aggression against any one of the three signatories would be viewed collectively, thereby strengthening deterrence.
He observed that the pact has emerged against the backdrop of continuing instability in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as the unresolved crisis surrounding the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. These developments, he said, have created an urgent need for greater regional security and maritime stability.
He further said the pact could potentially expand to include countries such as Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Such expansion, he observed, could give the emerging security architecture a broader regional reach.
He stressed that the signatories do not seek an arms race. The principal objective, he said, is to strengthen deterrence while simultaneously investing political capital in diplomacy, preventing wars, averting escalation and resolving regional conflicts through peaceful means.
