Pakistan has called on other Muslim-majority countries to join a new joint defense framework with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, saying the Mecca Joint Defense Pact should evolve into a broader security platform modeled in part on NATO.
Speaking to Pakistan’s Geo News, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the agreement should not become an exclusive club limited to its three founding members.
“The doors of this agreement should never be closed to other countries,” Asif said, arguing that Muslim countries should set aside minor disagreements, bilateral disputes and transactional issues to build a common security platform.
The pact was signed last Friday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Analysts say the agreement could create a new regional security architecture amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
The three countries have expressed concern over the risk of a wider regional conflict, particularly amid fears that Iranian missile attacks could threaten Gulf oil-producing states. The agreement comes as tensions between the United States and Iran remain high.
The new pact builds on a defense agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia a year earlier. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the arrangement as broadly comparable to NATO’s collective-defense principle under Article 5.
Under the main provision of the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three signatories will be treated as an attack against all three. However, the full details of the pact have not yet been made public.
Türkiye, which has NATO’s second-largest military, has said that if a member comes under attack, the allies will consult one another and determine the nature and extent of their assistance. The three countries have also emphasized that no country will be considered an adversary or threat unless it attacks a member state.
The three founding members bring different strategic capabilities to the alliance. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed country in the Muslim world and has extensive military experience. Saudi Arabia contributes substantial economic strength and regional influence, while Türkiye has a large military and a sophisticated domestic defense industry.
Officials have suggested that the alliance could eventually expand. Fidan said President Erdogan wants to see the framework broadened, with Egypt and several other countries potentially joining in the future.
In an interview with Türkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Fidan stressed that the pact was not established against Iran or any particular country, describing it instead as a common commitment to safeguarding the security of the three allies.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also said the agreement was not directed at any specific country and that the door remains open to other regional states.
Dar said the pact was based entirely on a defensive framework and that countries willing to uphold its principles and resolve disputes peacefully could join.
In a post on X, Dar said Pakistan would continue efforts to promote lasting peace and stability in South Asia and the Middle East. He added that the Mecca pact would not interfere with or invalidate the three countries’ existing bilateral or multilateral agreements with other states and international organizations.
