Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said there is nothing aggressive in the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, emphasizing that it is purely defensive in nature
Speaking to Al-Arabiya English during a special interview, the military spokesperson said that the agreement was based on collective deterrence.
“There is nothing aggressive. There are no regional aspirations. It is a collective deterrence and it is complementary because all these countries have independent relations with other alliances, other countries, other blocks,” he said.
He said that the Makkah defence agreement was complementary in nature and did not compete with any other.
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When questioned about Pakistan’s possible response if one of its partners were attacked, Chaudhry said the details of how the defence commitments would be put into practice had not been publicly disclosed.
He explained that any response would be determined jointly by the three countries, with the partners assessing the circumstances before deciding on the appropriate course of action and implementing it.
Addressing concerns over whether the new arrangement could affect Pakistan’s longstanding strategic ties with China, Chaudhry said the relationship with Beijing would remain complementary rather than being challenged by the new partnerships.
He stressed that Pakistan’s ties with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye were also longstanding and deeply established. According to Chaudhry, these relationships were well understood by both China and the international community, and the latest arrangements represented an effort to formalise existing bonds rather than create entirely new ones.
“Nobody has any problem with that, everyone understands that this is defensive, everyone understands it is for maintaining stability and peace in the region,” he said, adding that all the signatories of the agreement enjoyed friendly relationships with China.
He also rebuffed the idea of calling agreement a “Muslim strategic alliance”, saying it was a regional stability alliance.
“It’s not a club that has been made for Muslim countries only,” he said, adding the leadership of the three countries can decide about expanding the alliance.
“This agreement, this alliance, always encompass new willing partners who also believe in regional peace, stability and security, who have shared vision of non-aggression, non-interference and collective deterrence,” he added.
