DAMASCUS (The Thursday Times) — Syria’s Defence Minister Maj Gen Murhaf Abu Qasra has met Pakistan’s military attaché, Brig Irfan Maqbool Ahmed, to discuss closer military ties between the two countries, the Syrian Defence Ministry said.
The ministry said on Tuesday that the two sides discussed the prospects for joint cooperation and ways to strengthen military relations “in various fields”. Brig Ahmed, who is accredited to both Damascus and Baghdad, attended with an accompanying delegation, and a number of Syrian officers were also present. The ministry gave no further details of what was discussed.
The meeting comes days after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Damascus was considering joining the Makkah defence pact that binds Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. “Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Makkah alliance,” he told a security conference in Bahrain on Saturday.
The agreement, signed on August 7, treats an armed attack on any member as an attack on all. Pakistan’s military spokesman has said its wording does not bar new members. The Syrian statement did not mention the pact.
