PM terms Pakistan-Saudi-Turkiye Defence pact step towards regional peace, significant for wider Muslim Ummah

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (APP):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday termed the Pakistan-Saudia-Turkiye Defence agreement a step towards regional peace and underlined that the agreement was purely defensive in nature and aimed at promoting peace, stability and progress in the region, and was not directed at any form of aggression.

The prime minister added that the accord held significance not only for the three countries but for the wider Muslim Ummah, as he chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet, welcoming members and senior government officials and briefing them on recent developments, including the trilateral defence agreement signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

The prime minister said the agreement was signed in Makkah on Friday, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and himself putting their signatures to the accord on behalf of their respective countries. He noted that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed a bilateral defence agreement last year, while Pakistan and Turkiye had maintained defence arrangements for decades.

He thanked Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their efforts, noting that negotiations on the agreement had been under way for several years before being finalised.

The prime minister also referred to recent incidents of terrorism in parts of the country, mentioning the deaths of police personnel in Hangu and security forces personnel in Swat. He named Major Hafiz Ehsan Ilahi, Captain Hamza Akram and DSP Dayar Khan among those who lost their lives in the line of duty, and sought prayers for the fallen.

He further paid tribute to Iqbal Channar, a veteran political figure from Bahawalpur associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz since 1985, who passed away recently, and asked Federal Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to lead prayers for the departed.

On Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister said elections had concluded in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions, with polling under way in two districts of Poonch division. He said PML-N had received substantial support from voters in the divisions where polling had concluded and, combined with reserved seats for refugees, was close to securing a majority, which he described as a vote of confidence in the leadership of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. He thanked the people of Azad Kashmir for their support.

The prime minister said no civilised society could permit lawlessness, and that disputes should be resolved through dialogue. He referred to an All Parties Conference held in Muzaffarabad ahead of the elections, attended by all parties except one, at which issues including the allocation of refugee seats were discussed, and said parties with reservations had been advised to raise the matter in the new assembly after the elections.

He said preparations were under way across the federal and provincial governments for Independence Day on August 14, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building Pakistan in line with the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam.