Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi launch first defence pact meeting in Istanbul

Ishaq Dar and Asim Munir have reached Turkiye ahead of the first committee meeting under the new trilateral defence pact. The visit signals tighter security coordination with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye amid rising West Asia tensions.

In Short

• The pact says any attack on one member will trigger collective response
• Turkish ministers and military chief are expected at Monday's committee session
• Officials have not disclosed the agenda for the inaugural committee meeting

Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir reached Turkiye on Sunday for engagements linked to a new trilateral defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The three countries signed the agreement, called the 'Makkah Joint Defence Agreement', on August 7.

The first meeting of the 'Strategic Political and Defence Committee' set up under the pact will be held in Istanbul on Monday, the Turkish foreign ministry confirmed. While the agenda has not been shared officially, the agreement says that an attack on one of the three countries will be treated as an attack on all, against the backdrop of rising security concerns amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement that Dar had landed in Istanbul for "official engagements". In a separate statement, the army said Field Marshal Munir also arrived in Turkiye on an "official visit". The details of their engagements have not been shared officially.

Turkiye said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will take part in Monday's meeting. Though the agenda of the first meeting under the defence agreement is not known, it is believed that the regional situation with respect to the Iran war would be discussed.

Separately, Fidan also invited Dar to the Regional-4 meeting in Istanbul, which includes the three countries in the defence pact along with Egypt. The R-4 group, focused on regional security, emerged in March amid efforts for mediation between the US and Iran. The last R-4 meeting was held on August 5 in Amman, where the ministers "reaffirmed the importance of continued consultation and close coordination among the four countries in advancing regional stability", according to the Foreign Office. Pakistan has sought to play a mediatory role between the US and Iran.

Dar travelled to Turkiye from London, where he "concluded a successful official visit to the UK", according to the Foreign Office. His visit, along with Munir's, comes ahead of the first formal committee meeting under the new trilateral defence agreement.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends