what is the makkah defence pact?

The Makkah pact is a three-way defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, signed in Makkah on 7 August 2026 by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan [1][4]. Its core clause says an armed attack on any one of the three will be regarded as an attack on all of them. It also provides for closer defence cooperation [4]. It builds on the Pakistan-Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement of September 2025 [4]. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said it is “purely defensive in nature”, not aimed at any country, and based on the right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter [1].

A committee of the three foreign ministers, defence ministers and military chiefs oversees it. At its first meeting in Istanbul on 31 August, Türkiye’s foreign minister said the pact would be known as the Makkah Defence Alliance, with a secretariat in Riyadh and a Pakistani as its first secretary general [2]. He also said it is open to other countries, and a roadmap for new members is being prepared [2]. Egypt has been named as a possible member, and Bangladesh has said it sees no risk in joining but has received no formal invitation [1][2].

As of 6 October 2026, our latest report, the committee met in Riyadh on 5 October and decided to “move immediately to the practical implementation” of the collective defence commitments [5]. It agreed to take the necessary measures to provide forces and ensure their rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia, in line with the approved arrangements and national legislation [5]. That report is 13 days old, so things may have moved since.