ANKARA (The Thursday Times) — Türkiye’s parliament has approved the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, clearing the last big hurdle before the three-nation pact, under which an armed attack on one is treated as an attack on all, can come into force.
Lawmakers passed the ratification bill by 279 votes to 119 on Thursday, after voting on its articles began a day earlier. The ruling AK Party, its ally the MHP and the main opposition CHP backed it. The law takes effect once it is published in the Official Gazette, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ratification is expected to follow.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed their own procedures. The agreement enters into force once all three countries have deposited their instruments of ratification with the pact’s secretariat in Saudi Arabia.
The 16-article agreement covers counterterrorism, intelligence sharing through secure channels, joint exercises, defence-industry cooperation including technology transfer and joint weapons production, and logistical support in peacetime, war and emergencies. Help for a member under attack is given at its request, with the nature and scope decided by consensus. A Strategic Political and Defence Committee of foreign ministers, defence ministers and chiefs of general staff will normally meet twice a year.
Pakistan holds the first leadership of the pact’s secretariat. Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was appointed its first secretary-general for a three-year term at the committee’s meeting in Riyadh on October 5. The post rotates among the founding members.
The agreement has no end date, and no member can withdraw during its first 10 years, after which three months’ written notice is required. New members need the unanimous consent of the founders, and Syria has said it is considering joining. Sending Turkish troops abroad would still need separate approval from parliament.
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the agreement in Makkah on August 7.
