Pakistan Defence/Securities Agreement and Cooperation - Middle East.

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Pak-Saudi-Turkiye defence pact ‘entirely for defensive purposes’, not aggression: PM Shehbaz​

News Desk
August 10, 2026



Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses the federal cabinet on Aug 10, 2026. — screengrab via DawnNewsTV

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday affirmed that the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was “entirely for defensive purposes”, and not for any aggression.

The joint defence agreement, signed on August 7 between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

Addressing the federal cabinet on Monday, PM Shehbaz recalled that he, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact in Makkah on Friday.

The prime minister stressed that the objective of the pact is to “promote peace, progress, and prosperity in the region”.
“Its purpose is definitely not that any aggression occurs. It is entirely for defensive purposes, for peace, tranquillity and progress in the region,” he affirmed.

“I believe this agreement is a source of strength not just among these three countries, but for the entire Muslim ummah,” he noted.

PM Shehbaz particularly felicitated Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as well as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir on the signing of the agreement.

Efforts for the joint defence pact had been underway for “many years and materialised this Friday”, the prime minister said.

He noted that while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had already entered the “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” in September 2025, Islamabad and Ankara also had “arrangements for decades” between them.

 

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were invited by Pakistan to visit Islamabad for talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

He said the "Makkah Joint Defence Agreement" reflected a shift in regional countries' approach to security, with a shift away from reliance on US power.

"Any plan that is based on the geopolitical and historical realities of the region, is comprehensive and inclusive, and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat, has a chance of helping to strengthen security and prevent instability and abuses by the Zionist enemy and its allies," he added, referring to Israel.

He added that Iran would not hold talks with the US as long as Washington continued to "violate the interim deal", according to Al Jazeera.