The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Agreement held on August 31, 2026.  Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to establish a ‌secretariat in Saudi Arabia under their Mecca joint defence agreement, which will initially be headed by a Pakistani secretary-general ⁠for three years.

 The signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7, 2026 represents an important development in the evolving security architecture of the wider West Asia and South Asia. The agreement should be understood neither as the creation of an ideological bloc nor as an instrument directed against a particular state. It is, above all, an assertion of collective security, strategic autonomy and sovereign responsibility for national defence.

The agreement brings together three states with established defence relationships, significant military capabilities and growing strategic interests. The countries will work to strengthen their collective defence capabilities and cohesion ‌of ⁠their armed forces. Its central commitment, that an armed attack against one would be regarded as an attack against all, establishes a principle of collective deterrence. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has emphasized that the agreement is intended to institutionalize defence cooperation and strengthen collective deterrence against aggression. This development is significant because the regional security environment is undergoing profound transformation.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have maintained extensive bilateral defence relationships for decades. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have particularly deep military ties, including joint training and defence cooperation, while Pakistan and Turkiye have steadily expanded their strategic and defence partnership. The Makkah Agreement builds upon these existing relationships rather than creating them from scratch. Its significance therefore lies in institutionalization.

The cooperation becomes strategically meaningful when it moves beyond political statements and develops mechanisms for coordination, consultation, interoperability, intelligence sharing, military exercises and defence-industrial cooperation. The agreement provides a framework through which the three states can gradually transform existing bilateral relationships into a more coordinated trilateral security partnership. For Pakistan, this is strategically valuable.

Collective deterrence is often misunderstood as inherently offensive. In reality, the central logic of collective deterrence is preventive: the cost of aggression is raised by making clear that an aggressor would not confront an isolated state. The Makkah Agreement therefore strengthens the principle that security can be enhanced through credible collective deterrence without seeking confrontation. Pakistan has consistently maintained that it seeks peaceful relations with neighboring and regional states while retaining the capability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The same principle applies here.

A stronger defensive partnership can reduce the incentives for coercion by creating greater uncertainty for any potential aggressor about the consequences of military action. The agreement’s language regarding an armed attack on one member being regarded as an attack on all is consequently its most strategically consequential element.

For Pakistan, the agreement provides several strategic benefits. First, it strengthens Pakistan’s position as an important security actor linking South Asia, the Gulf and the........

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