ISPR Says Makkah Pact Has No Regional Aspirations

Islamabad (GNP): Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said the Makkah Defence Alliance, a tripartite pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, carries no regional aspirations and exists purely for collective deterrence among the three states.

Speaking in a televised interview, Lt Gen Chaudhry described the agreement as a formalisation of Pakistan’s decades-old ties with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye across defence and deterrence.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said, “It is defensive. There’s nothing aggressive. There are no regional aspirations.” He added that the pact was complementary rather than competitive, noting that each member state maintains independent relationships with other nations and blocs that the alliance does not seek to override.

Pressed on whether the agreement carries binding mutual defence obligations, he said the published text of the pact already sets out its terms clearly, while the operational details of how any member would be defended remain a matter the three countries would determine internally rather than disclose publicly.

Asked whether the alliance complements or competes with Pakistan’s relationship with China, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the Pakistan-Saudi and Pakistan-Turkiye relationships long predate the pact and are well understood by Beijing, adding that all three member states maintain strong ties with China.

He also rejected the characterisation of the alliance as an exclusively Muslim security bloc, describing it instead as a framework for regional stability that remains open to new partners who share its principles of non-aggression and collective deterrence, though he said decisions on expansion rest solely with the leadership of the three founding states.

The defence pact was signed on August 7 and stipulates that an attack on one member state will be treated as an attack on all three, with its inaugural meeting held in Istanbul on August 31, where Pakistan was designated to head the alliance’s secretariat for an initial three-year term.

Turkiye has floated the possibility of Egypt’s future inclusion, though Cairo has not confirmed any such move, and Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said the founding members first need to consolidate the organisation before considering wider expansion.

Turning to regional diplomacy, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the Makkah alliance does not complicate Pakistan’s mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, describing Islamabad’s role as rooted in its long-standing policy of engagement across the region.

He said Pakistan’s political and military leadership continues reaching out to all parties in pursuit of a negotiated outcome rather than a military solution, while stressing that objectivity and neutrality remain essential to any credible mediation effort.

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On the prospect of conflict spilling toward Pakistan’s western frontiers, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the country remains confident and self-reliant on matters of territorial integrity and sovereignty, even as concerns persist over the wider regional impact of the conflict. He reiterated that Pakistan’s core interest lies in regional peace and stability as a foundation for development and prosperity.

Asked about lessons from last year’s brief military conflict with India, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the episode demonstrated that war between nuclear-armed neighbours is not a viable option, adding that India had committed a strategic error in initiating the confrontation.

He said Pakistan remains committed to peace on equal terms, while cautioning that any Indian attempt to impose regional dominance through military aggression would carry consequences beyond expectation.

He confirmed that communication between military operations directors on both sides had remained functional during and after the conflict, adding that any resumption of broader dialogue with India would need to occur on equal terms and could not serve as cover for continued hostile activity attributed to India within Pakistan.