Victor Dasgupta
Victor Dasgupta is an Assistant News Editor at India.com, where he tracks major developments across national politics, education, world affairs, business, and current events. He specializes in simplif ... Read More
New Delhi: The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (Makkah Accord) will be held on Monday in Istanbul, Türkiye. As per the statement released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan will be represented at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and the Chief of Army Staff & Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
“Pakistan’s participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan’s historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiÿe and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability,” it said. The meeting will also be attended by the respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Defence, as well as Chiefs of General Staff of Turkiÿe, and Saudi Arabia.
To recall, the defence deal was signed in the Muslim holy city of Makkah earlier this month and hailed as the first concrete step toward creating a Muslim block for joint security of those countries. It has the potential to expand and already Bangladesh has shown interest in the pact.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the ‘Makkah Joint Defence Agreement’ on August 7.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) is a trilateral mutual-defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye in Makkah on 7 August 2026. Under the agreement, an attack against one of the countries will be treated as an attack against all of them, amid increasing security concerns in the wake of escalating tensions in West Asia.
It builds on the 2025 bilateral Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) and the broader Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) framework.
“Three of the Muslim world’s most influential states are convening at a moment of heightened uncertainty, demonstrating a growing willingness among regional and middle powers to coordinate more closely on security matters,” said Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, a Saudi-based think tank.
“The trilateral framework could strengthen the three countries’ collective diplomatic and defense weight while contributing to the emergence of a more regionally driven security architecture,” Sager added.
Turkey has NATO’s second-largest military. Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s holiest sites and one of the world’s top oil exporters, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.
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