Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that more than six countries are interested in joining the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, while stressing that the arrangement was purely defensive.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said the agreement was not designed for offensive operations and was intended to provide collective security to its members.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The pact, subsequently referred to as the Makkah Defence Alliance, provides for a collective response if any member comes under attack, in a framework comparable to NATO’s Article 5.
Dar said the alliance held its inaugural meeting on August 31 and that its headquarters would be established in Saudi Arabia. He added that Pakistan had nominated retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the alliance’s first secretary general.
According to Dar, an emergency meeting of the alliance would take place next week to assess the security situation in Saudi Arabia, which he said had come under 17 to 18 attacks.
“Pakistan is bound to defend Saudi Arabia,” Dar said, adding that the UN Charter permitted countries to form such defensive arrangements.
The foreign minister said vessels should not be charged any fee or service charge for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. He said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were also seeking a way to resolve the issue, while acknowledging that all sides were pursuing their respective interests.
On Afghanistan, Dar said Pakistan wanted peaceful relations with Kabul but expected Afghan territory not to be used for attacks against Pakistan.
He said Kabul needed to demonstrate concrete action against the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and what he referred to as Fitna al-Hindustan.
Dar also said the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had remained closed since October, acknowledging that the prolonged closure had affected crops in Afghanistan.
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