The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, began in Istanbul, Turkiye, on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir are representing Pakistan at the high-level trilateral huddle.
The meeting is also being attended by the foreign and defence ministers, as well as the chiefs of general staff of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s participation in the meeting reflects its historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its commitment to lasting regional peace and stability.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, brought together the Muslim nations concerned by the Middle East war that began on February 28, after the US and Israel jointly bombed Iran and targeted its top leadership.
The defence pact is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all, similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause.
International security issues among agenda items
Today’s meeting will discuss “international security issues” among other matters, Turkish foreign source had said.
Discussions are expected to focus on enhancing defence capabilities, improving interoperability among their armed forces and deepening cooperation in the defence industry, including joint production and development, the source added.
Six months after the US and Israel launched the war against Iran, negotiations are at an impasse and President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to punish Iran financially with what it has billed as an “economic D-Day”.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest military, has said the pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia was open to expansion — with Egypt as a potential candidate — and did not seek to replace existing alliances.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
2026-08-31 16:42:00
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