Farhan Qureshi 
On 5 October 2026, the senior civilian and military leadership of Pakistan held an emergency Pakistan Makkah defence meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh. The meeting took place under the trilateral Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir represented Pakistan. Regional security issues, including attacks affecting Saudi Arabia and broader instability around major waterways.
Makkah Agreement Boosts Collective Defence Cooperation
On August 7, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which states that an armed attack on one member is an attack on all three. The Riyadh meeting was a forum for members to discuss implementation of the agreement as regional security concerns increased.
The participating states agreed on better sharing of intelligence, on coordination of military operations and on improvement of the integration of defence capabilities. Pakistan’s retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was also appointed the alliance’s first Secretary-General for a three-year term, giving Pakistan a prominent institutional role in the emerging defence framework.
