- Inaugural Makkah Defence Pact meeting held in Istanbul, Turkiye.
- Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia discuss joint security agreement.
- Regional stability, Iran situation expected agenda for discussions.
Islamabad: The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (Makkah Accord) will be held on Monday in Istanbul, Turkiye. Pakistan will be represented at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister Mohamad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, according to a statement from the Foreign Office. The agenda of the meeting is yet to be disclosed.
"Pakistan's participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan's historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability," it said.
Cheif of Defences will attend meeting
The meeting will also be attended by the respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Defence, as well as Chiefs of General Staff of Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia. The defence deal was signed in the Muslim holy city of Makkah earlier this month and hailed as the first concrete step toward creating a Muslim bloc for joint security of those countries. It has the potential to expand, and already Bangladesh has shown interest in the pact.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the ''Makkah Joint Defence Agreement'' on August 7.
Under the agreement, an attack against one of the countries will be treated as an attack against all of them, amid increasing security concerns in the wake of escalating tensions in West Asia.
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Agenda of meeting is not known
The agenda of the first meeting under the defence agreement is not known, but it is believed that the regional situation with respect to the Iran war would be discussed. Separately, Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also invited Dar to the Regional-4 meeting in Istanbul, which includes the three countries part of the defence pact, along with Egypt.
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The R-4 group, which has been focused on regional security, emerged in March amid efforts for mediation between the US and Iran. The last R-4 meeting was held on August 5 in Jordan's capital Amman, where the ministers "reaffirmed the importance of continued consultation and close coordination among the four countries in advancing regional stability", according to the Foreign Office. Pakistan has sought to play a mediatory role between the US and Iran.
Dar travelled to Turkiye from London, where he "concluded a successful official visit to the UK", according to the Foreign Office.