OMM Redaksiyası
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are taking “concrete steps” to put their recently signed joint defense agreement into operation, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday.
According to Fidan, officials from the three countries are holding technical talks on the agreement’s institutional structure, including its headquarters, personnel and operating principles. Ankara hopes the trilateral arrangement will eventually expand, although the minister did not name potential new members.
The “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” was signed last month as conflicts in the region intensified. Under the agreement, an armed attack against Türkiye, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia will be considered an attack against all three countries. The provision resembles the principle of collective defense applied by the Western NATO alliance.
How the provision will be implemented in practice remains unclear. The three founding members must first establish consultation and decision-making mechanisms and determine what type of joint military response would be mounted in the event of an external attack.
According to earlier statements, activation of the agreement would not automatically mean the launch of military operations. Implementation will depend on each country’s constitutional procedures, including parliamentary approval where necessary.
Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s support for Saudi Arabia. He said it was “unacceptable” for the oil-rich kingdom to face attacks “from both the south and the north.” Riyadh claims that some of the strikes were carried out from Iraqi territory.
The Turkish minister’s comments came after Yemen’s Houthis carried out a series of missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia’s military and energy infrastructure. Saudi Arabia’s air force is also reported to have conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Yemen.
Responsibility for several of these incidents remains disputed. The Houthis reject Saudi Arabia’s claims that the group targeted Islamic holy sites.
Meanwhile, Türkiye’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin traveled to Pakistan on Thursday. He met with his Pakistani counterpart, Asim Malik, as well as the country’s prime minister and defense chief.
According to Turkish security sources, the meetings covered bilateral cooperation, regional security, and the political and economic consequences of the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran. The parties also assessed the risks of a wider regional conflict, including rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis.
The talks also addressed the possible role of the “Mecca pact” as a framework for consultation, deterrence and coordinated action. The ongoing technical negotiations indicate that the agreement remains, for now, a political commitment whose implementation depends on procedures and the members’ response to future attacks.
