Turkiye sends Makkah defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to parliament for ratification

Turkiye has sent the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement it signed with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to its parliament for ratification, three Turkish parliamentary sources told Reuters on Tuesday 20 October, Business Recorder reported. Under the pact, signed by the three countries in August, an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.

What happens next in Ankara

• Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, who is visiting Kyrgyzstan, will refer the agreement to the parliament's foreign affairs commission when he returns, two of the sources said.
• The commission could debate it as early as Friday 23 October, another source said.
• Ratification by parliament is needed before Turkiye formally approves the agreement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the pact is not an "offensive agreement" and that Turkiye would not send troops to attack another country's territory. A Turkish official, speaking anonymously, said Ankara's contribution is expected to be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, and that no other kind of deployment has taken place under the alliance so far.

The pact so far

Turkiye has condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, offered to help meet Riyadh's military technology needs and agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition for safe navigation in the Red Sea. The report carried no comment from Pakistani or Saudi officials.

Why it matters for Pakistan

The move comes as the Houthis keep striking Saudi targets, including Riyadh's airport. On the same day Britain announced it would fly RAF Typhoon jets over Saudi Arabia on defensive missions. The pact was also on the table when the new Saudi ambassador called on Field Marshal Asim Munir this month, which we covered here. Field Marshal Munir is in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian officials.

Saudi Arabia is home to one of the largest Pakistani communities abroad, and remittances from there, which you can convert on our riyal to rupee page, are one of the country's largest sources of foreign exchange.