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◆ أحدث الأخبار من الحرمين الشريفين

أخبار الحرمين الشريفين

آخر الأخبار والتحديثات من المسجد الحرام بمكة المكرمة والمسجد النبوي بالمدينة المنورة

Pakistan says Makkah defense pact open to new members, will consult Riyadh, Ankara

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement (MJDA) is open to new members, saying that Islamabad will consult Riyadh and Ankara before new states are admitted to the pact.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the MJDA in Makkah earlier this month, stipulating that an attack against any one of the three nations is an attack against all of them. The pact was signed as regional tensions surge, with the United States (US) and Iran embroiled in a conflict since February that has pushed oil prices higher and disrupted fuel supplies.

Shama Obed, Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign Affairs, told Arab News last week that “there is no policy-level decision yet” on the country joining the pact. However, the minister acknowledged that there is a “discussion ongoing” on the topic.

“As an evolving security architecture, the MJDA remains open to countries who share their commitments to collective obligations and common security interest,” Andrabi told reporters during a weekly press briefing.

“Any formal request will be considered in consultation with our partners in Riyadh and Ankara.”

The foreign office spokesperson, however, said the operationalization of the agreement “remains at an early stage.”

The trilateral pact is an important development as it aligns the three main military powers in the region. Pakistan has the world’s fourth-largest active-duty military personnel and is the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed country. Saudi Arabia has substantial economic resources, regional influence, and defense infrastructure, while Türkiye is a NATO member with a large military and domestic defense industry.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia already signed a landmark Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SDMA) in September 2025, formalizing decades of military and security cooperation. The treaty states that an attack on any one of the nations will be considered an attack against both.