The bigger story is that a self-reliant, regionally driven security architecture is the new game in town. When global collective security is weakened, and the external security umbrella is insufficient, regional collective defence mechanisms move into the space. Add a diluted superpower and asymmetric dependence to the mix, and alternatives will emerge. They are emerging. The Makkah Pact is one such alternative.

On 7 August 2026, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The agreement extends the logic of collective defence to the trilateral relationship. An armed attack on any one of the three shall be regarded as an armed attack on all. From bilateral to trilateral. It is largely seen as defensive in nature.

The significance of the trilateral arrangement lies in what the three countries bring to the table. Saudi Arabia brings economic weight, strategic geography and enormous influence in the Muslim and Arab world; Türkiye brings military capability, defence-industrial capacity and NATO experience. Pakistan brings expertise on the ground and long experience of serving in the Middle East and nuclear deterrence. That is a formidable combination. For decades, the security of the Gulf was deeply tied to the American security umbrella. That relationship has not disappeared. Nor is Saudi Arabia abandoning Washington. But the Gulf states are increasingly hedging. They are diversifying their strategic options.

The wars in the region have demonstrated that wealth does not automatically translate into security. Advanced weapons do not necessarily provide strategic autonomy. And external guarantees are only as credible as the........

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