Pakistan, Turkiye agree to strengthen regional defence cooperation

Khawaja Muhammad Asif and the Turkish leadership agreed to enhance joint defence cooperation in the region#News#Radio. Pakistanhttps://t.co/y0RVUt. UziG— Radio Pakistan (@Radio.

Pakistan)August 31, 2026The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the trilateral Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, is scheduled to take place in Istanbul today.

Thefirst meetingof the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the agreement will bring together foreign and defence ministers as well as military chiefs from the three countries.

Turkiye's Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu would participate in the meeting along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff & Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Foreign Office.

"Pakistan's participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan's historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability," the Foreign Office spokesperson said in the statement. The Foreign Office also said that Deputy Prime Minister Dar arrived in Istanbul on Sunday "for official engagements".

Field Marshal Asim Munir also reached Istanbul on an "official visit", -Services Public Relations. Read:Bangladesh interested in joining Makkah Defence pact: official. The Istanbul meeting is the first concrete institutional step towards implementing the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7 in the holy city of Makkah.

The agreement provides that an armed attack against any of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all three, creating a collective defence commitment similar in principle to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. The three countries have described the arrangement as defensive and aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, rather than targeting any particular country.