# Makkah defence pact: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia complete ratification, Turkiye still in parliament

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/politics/makkah-defence-pact-pakistan-and-saudi-arabia-complete-ratification-turkiye)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 23 Oct 2026
Updated: 23 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 25 Oct 2026

> The Foreign Office says the three-nation pact has no hidden clauses and is defensive, and that whether to invoke it over Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia is for the three partners to decide.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have **completed ratification of the Makkah defence pact**, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at the weekly briefing in Islamabad on Friday, 23 October, Dawn and Business Recorder reported. Turkiye, the third signatory, is still going through its own legal steps: it sent the agreement to its parliament earlier this week.

## What the Makkah pact says

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. Its core clause is that an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all three. Khan called it "essentially defensive in nature", in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right of self-defence, and said it is not aimed at any country.

Any help one member gives another would be decided jointly by the three governments after what he called an "objective assessment of the circumstances". Asked about reports of secret terms, he said Pakistan endorses the text published by the Turkish parliament and that the agreement has no hidden provisions.

## The Houthi question

The ratification comes as the Houthis and Saudi forces trade strikes after the Houthi offensive in September on Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab strait. Asked whether the pact would be invoked over the attacks on Saudi Arabia, Khan said that was for the three partners to decide under the agreement. Pakistan condemns the attacks, supports Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity and backs a negotiated settlement, he said.

Earlier in October, after an emergency meeting of the pact's Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh, the three countries agreed to deploy forces and capabilities to the kingdom quickly; the Foreign Office has not named a specific threat. The committee also met on 5 October, and details of how the pact will work in practice are still being discussed.

## Did Pakistan's parliament vote on it?

No vote has been reported. The Foreign Office has said that signing the pact and committing military capabilities are executive functions that do not necessarily need parliamentary approval, so ratification in Pakistan was done by the government. In Turkiye, the agreement goes through the Grand National Assembly.

## Why it matters to readers in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia is home to one of the largest Pakistani communities abroad, and its remittances are one of the country's biggest sources of dollars. A wider war in the Gulf also moves oil prices: Brent crude reached its highest level since May on Friday, and the KSE-100 fell 1,549 points. Follow the [dollar rate](/data/usd-pkr) and the [SAR to PKR rate](/data/sar-pkr), and convert remittances with our [currency converter](/tools/finance/currency-converter).

Related: [Turkiye sends the Makkah defence pact to parliament](/news/politics/turkiye-sends-makkah-defence-pact-with-pakistan-and-saudi-arabia-to-parliament) and [Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Indonesia sign the Badr defence pact](/news/politics/pakistan-turkiye-qatar-and-indonesia-sign-badr-defence-pact-in-doha-for-joint).

## Frequently asked questions

**Has Pakistan ratified the Makkah defence pact?**

Yes. The Foreign Office said on 23 October 2026 that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed ratification; Turkiye's parliament is still reviewing it.

**What does the Makkah defence pact mean?**

An armed attack on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or Turkiye is treated as an attack on all three, with any assistance decided jointly.

## Sources

- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia have completed ratification of Makkah defence pact: FO (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2039288/pakistan-saudi-arabia-have-completed-ratification-of-makkah-defence-pact-fo
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia have ratified Makkah defence pact, Turkiye in process: FO (Business Recorder): https://www.brecorder.com/news/40445642/pakistan-saudi-arabia-have-ratified-makkah-defence-pact-turkiye-in-process-fo

How to cite: "Makkah defence pact: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia complete ratification, Turkiye still in parliament", Searchable, 23 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/politics/makkah-defence-pact-pakistan-and-saudi-arabia-complete-ratification-turkiye