Bilawal calls Makkah Defence Agreement historic milestone, hails PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir | The Express Tribune

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday described the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement as a “significant milestone” in the country’s history, praising the roles of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal.

“The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement is a significant milestone in the country’s history; it is a historic development that will further strengthen our defence capabilities,” Bilawal wrote on X.

He said the agreement was not only a guarantee for the stable and secure future of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, but also a historic document for regional and global peace.

“The role of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir in making this agreement possible is commendable,” he said.

 

A day earlier, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, reaffirming their commitment to collective security, defence cooperation and regional stability.

The agreement establishes a framework for collective deterrence against acts of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three signatory states will be regarded as an attack against all three.

Read: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye sign joint defence pact in Makkah

The foreign ministry said the pact was guided by the three countries’ “longstanding historical ties”, the “enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity” and their shared strategic interests and defence cooperation.

It added that the agreement reflects their “shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security” and to promoting “peace, security and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future.”

What the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkiye defence pact is — and what it isn’t

“Makkah Joint Defence Agreement”, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.

The agreement, signed during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, has prompted comparisons with military alliances such as NATO. However, according to security analysts, the pact is intended to formalise decades of existing strategic cooperation rather than create a new military bloc or offensive alliance.

A formal framework for existing ties

According to security analysts, the agreement represents the natural progression of longstanding political, military and strategic relations among the three countries.

They note that Pakistan’s ties with Turkiye date back to the Khilafat Movement, while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained decades of defence, political, economic and diplomatic cooperation based on what they describe as mutual trust and shared strategic interests.

Rather than establishing an entirely new partnership, analysts say the agreement provides a formal institutional framework for cooperation that has evolved over many years.

Why now?

Security analysts argue that the agreement reflects a rapidly changing regional security environment.

They point to regional conflicts, evolving security threats and changes in the character of modern warfare as factors driving closer strategic coordination among countries that share common security interests.

Read more: OIC welcomes ‘historic’ Turkish-Saudi-Pakistani joint defence pact

According to them, the trilateral framework is intended to preserve regional stability by strengthening collective security mechanisms instead of relying on ad hoc bilateral cooperation.

What the agreement does

At its core, the agreement establishes a framework based on the principles of collective security and collective deterrence.

Security analysts say its central premise is that aggression against one member would be regarded as a threat to all three, thereby increasing the potential cost of military action and discouraging conflict through credible deterrence.

The framework also envisages expanded defence cooperation, including closer military coordination, intelligence sharing, strategic consultations, defence planning and broader institutional cooperation between the three countries.

According to analysts, pooling military capabilities and strategic coordination is intended to improve preparedness while reducing the likelihood of regional conflict.

The complementary roles of the three countries

The agreement draws on what security analysts describe as the complementary strengths of each participant.

Pakistan contributes experienced armed forces, operational expertise and strategic planning capabilities developed through decades of counterterrorism operations and conventional military preparedness.

Saudi Arabia brings economic strength, regional influence and political leadership, while Turkiye contributes an advanced defence industry, military technology and industrial capacity.

Together, analysts say, these capabilities form a balanced security architecture capable of responding to emerging regional security challenges.

Pakistan’s evolving diplomatic role

Security analysts also argue that Pakistan has increasingly emerged as a regional stabiliser through its diplomatic engagement in recent regional crises.

They cite Pakistan’s mediation efforts during the recent US-Iran conflict, alongside its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Iran, China and the United States, as evidence that Islamabad is well positioned to serve as a bridge between regional and global stakeholders.

Also read: Inside the Makkah defence pact and its regional implications

They say that this broader diplomatic role complements Pakistan’s contribution to the trilateral framework.

What the agreement is not

While comparisons have been drawn with existing military alliances, security analysts reject several common characterisations of the pact.

They emphasise that the agreement is not:

• an offensive military alliance;
• directed against any specific country;
• a “Muslim NATO”;
• a nuclear security arrangement or extended nuclear deterrence agreement; or
• a religion-based political or military bloc.

Instead, they describe it as a defensive security framework designed to deter aggression, strengthen military cooperation and enhance regional stability without targeting any state.

According to the analysts, the agreement is intended to reinforce self-reliance among the three partners while codifying an existing strategic relationship through a formal institutional mechanism.

A collective deterrence model

Security analysts say the credibility of the framework ultimately depends on continued political coordination among the three governments.

They argue that the leadership of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye has consistently combined military preparedness with diplomatic engagement and strategic restraint, agreeing a mechanism for crisis management as much as defence cooperation.

According to them, the objective is to reduce the likelihood of conflict through credible deterrence while providing a structured platform for long-term security cooperation among the three countries.

Although the agreement significantly deepens trilateral defence coordination, analysts maintain that its stated purpose is not to create a new geopolitical bloc but to institutionalise an existing strategic partnership centred on collective security, stability and regional cooperation.