By Junaid Qaiser
The Middle East is entering a period in which old assumptions about security are being tested by new realities. Conflicts can spread across borders within hours, attacks on infrastructure can unsettle entire economies, and threats to maritime routes can affect countries thousands of miles away. In such an environment, security cannot remain the concern of individual states alone.
It is against this backdrop that the Makkah Defence Pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan assumes growing importance.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, speaking during the opening of the third year of the ninth session of the Saudi Shura Council, described the agreement as an effort to strengthen regional stability, protect the region from the consequences of tensions and conflicts, and coordinate the efforts of the three countries. His remarks offer an important insight into how Riyadh views the emerging partnership.
The agreement, signed in Makkah on August 7, builds upon years of military and strategic cooperation among Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. The three countries already maintain substantial defence relationships, but the pact gives those relationships a broader institutional framework.
Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has a particularly long history. Pakistani military personnel have provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades. Türkiye and Pakistan have also expanded their defence cooperation through military training, naval collaboration, joint exercises and defence-industry projects. Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, meanwhile, have developed increasingly significant economic and strategic relations.
The Makkah Pact brings these strands together. Its collective-defence principle is particularly significant. The understanding that aggression against one member would be treated as aggression against all sends a clear message about shared responsibility. But the importance of the agreement should not be reduced to that single provision.
A modern security partnership has to do much more than respond to an attack. It must develop mechanisms for consultation, intelligence sharing, military coordination, maritime security, joint preparedness and crisis management. The real strength of the Makkah Pact will ultimately depend on how effectively these commitments are translated into practical cooperation.
The recent meeting of the military leadership of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in Riyadh was an important step in this direction. The three sides expressed their determination to translate the commitments of the Makkah Pact into effective military cooperation. Such developments matter because institutions are built through repeated coordination, not through declarations alone.
The regional circumstances make this cooperation particularly relevant. The Gulf remains central to global energy supplies and international commerce. The Red Sea and surrounding waterways are equally important for international shipping. When these routes become insecure, the consequences are felt well beyond the Middle East.
This explains the importance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reference to a multinational defensive maritime coalition. Protecting international waterways is an economic necessity. Safe maritime routes are essential for energy security, international trade and the stability of global supply chains.
Saudi Arabia’s position that international waterways should not become instruments of political or economic pressure therefore carries significance beyond the Kingdom itself.
Pakistan’s economy is closely connected with the Gulf. Millions of Pakistanis work across the region, while remittances remain an important source of foreign exchange. Saudi Arabia is also a major economic and strategic partner for Islamabad. The security of the Kingdom therefore has implications for Pakistan’s own economic stability.
A peaceful and secure Gulf creates opportunities for investment, trade, employment and energy cooperation. It also provides a more predictable environment for Pakistan to pursue its broader economic objectives.
Türkiye adds another important dimension to the partnership. Ankara has developed a sophisticated defence industry and has steadily expanded its strategic relationships across the Muslim world. Its military capabilities and defence-production experience complement Pakistan’s own military expertise and Saudi Arabia’s financial and strategic weight.
There is also a diplomatic dimension to Pakistan’s participation. Islamabad has increasingly sought to play a constructive role in regional diplomacy while maintaining strong strategic partnerships. Pakistan’s efforts to encourage dialogue during periods of regional tension demonstrate that security cooperation and diplomacy can operate alongside each other.
Indeed, credible deterrence can create space for diplomacy.
The objective of a defence pact should not be perpetual confrontation. Its greater purpose should be to reduce the possibility of conflict by making clear that threats will meet a coordinated response. Stronger security arrangements can therefore contribute to stability when they are accompanied by responsible diplomacy.
This is particularly important in the current Middle Eastern environment.
The region does not need another framework based solely on reacting to crises after they occur. It needs institutions capable of anticipating risks, coordinating responses and preventing local incidents from becoming wider conflicts.
That is where the Makkah Pact could become significant.
