ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that over six countries have shown interest in joining the Makkah Defence Agreement. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he stressed that the pact is meant for defence only and has no offensive purpose.
What the Makkah Defence Agreement Says
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, a few weeks before Yemen’s Houthis launched attacks on Saudi Arabia. The pact, later renamed the Makkah Defence Alliance, follows the same logic as NATO’s Article 5. An attack on any one of the three members is treated as an attack on all of them.
Dar said the alliance held its first meeting on August 31, and its headquarters will be set up in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has put forward Lieutenant General (retired) Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general. Dar called him a “very good and pious officer”.
Emergency Meeting Planned Next Week
An emergency meeting under the agreement will take place next week to assess the situation in Saudi Arabia, Dar said. He noted that the kingdom has come under 17 to 18 attacks.
“We are bound to defend Saudi Arabia,” he said. Dar added that the UN Charter permits alliances of this kind to act, and that NATO works on a similar principle.
Dar on the Strait of Hormuz
On the Strait of Hormuz, Dar said ships should not be charged any fee or service charge for passing through the strategic waterway. He said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi both want the issue resolved “somehow”, while every party involved is trying to get the most out of the situation.
Pakistan’s Message to Kabul
Turning to Afghanistan, Dar said Pakistan has “good wishes” for its neighbour but expects Kabul to make sure its soil is not used against Pakistan. “They have to show that action has been taken against the [banned] Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Balochistan Liberation Army and Fitna al-Hindustan,” he said.
He also said the border with Afghanistan has remained shut since October. Pakistan is aware, he added, that the closure has destroyed crops.