Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council and Coordinator of the National Paigham-e-Aman Committee, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, on Thursday said the evolving strategic partnership between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could play a historic role in promoting unity, peace and collective security across the Muslim world.
Addressing a high-level strategic policy forum titled “The Makkah Pact and the New Geometry of Power: Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkiye Shaping an Emerging Regional Order”, Ashrafi said the restraint demonstrated by Saudi Arabia during the recent regional crisis was critical in preventing the situation from escalating into a wider conflict among Muslim countries.
Ashrafi said the rapid escalation following Israel’s attack on Iran could have triggered a dangerous chain reaction in the region.
He said Saudi Arabia had made clear that neither its territory nor its airspace would be used against Iran, emphasizing that Riyadh’s policy of restraint helped prevent the conflict from developing into an Arab-Iranian confrontation. He said such a confrontation would ultimately have had grave consequences for the wider Muslim world.
Ashrafi particularly highlighted the role of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, saying his engagement with the Saudi leadership reflected a strategic understanding of the need to prevent the crisis from becoming a conflict between Arab and Muslim states.
He recalled that Field Marshal Asim Munir travelled to Saudi Arabia and met Saudi Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman, where the importance of preventing a broader confrontation was discussed.
Ashrafi said subsequent high-level engagement involving Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman reflected a shared strategic vision to ensure that the regional conflict did not turn into a war among Muslims.
He said Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye had subsequently emerged as important pillars of a broader effort for preserving regional stability, Muslim unity and collective security.
