ISPR chief calls Makkah pact defensive — Dawn
In Pakistan, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the Makkah defence alliance involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey has no “regional aspirations” and is intended for collective deterrence. He said this in an interview with Al Arabiya English’s Global News Today programme, Dawn reports.
Defensive nature of the agreement
According to Chaudhry, the agreement formalises Pakistan’s long-standing relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the areas of collective deterrence and defence of the three states. He stressed that the pact is defensive rather than offensive in nature.
The military spokesperson also described the agreement as complementary. He explained that each of the three countries maintains its own relations with other states, blocs and alliances, and that the new treaty does not compete with these ties.
Responding to a question about mutual defence commitments, Chaudhry said they are clearly defined by the text of the agreement released by the leadership of the three countries. He did not disclose operational details of how the parties would fulfil their defence commitments in the event of an attack on one of the participants.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Question of expansion
Chaudhry said that the agreement contains no provision for creating an alliance exclusively for Muslim countries. According to him, it is an association for regional stability, while decisions on the possible accession of new partners will be made by the leadership of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The joint defence pact was signed on 7 August. It provides that an attack on one participating state will be treated as an attack on all. At the alliance’s first meeting in Istanbul on 31 August, it was decided that Pakistan would head its secretariat for the first three years.
Turkey had previously raised the issue of Egypt’s possible accession, but Cairo did not confirm this. Last week, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjah Haider Khan said that expansion of the alliance is not currently planned: first, the three countries must strengthen the new organisation.
