Ankara (GNP): Turkiye plans to ask its parliament for permission to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia under its joint defence agreement with Riyadh and Pakistan, a ruling-party lawmaker said.
The lawmaker belongs to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and spoke on condition of anonymity. The move would widen military cooperation among the three countries at a time when Saudi Arabia faces escalating attacks from Yemen’s Houthi movement.
The plan depends on a first step that has already begun. Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August, and the Turkish government submitted it to parliament for ratification on Tuesday. The submission brings Ankara closer to formalising its mutual defence commitments to Riyadh and Islamabad.
Once lawmakers approve the ratification bill, the government will bring a separate deployment mandate before parliament. That mandate would give any deployment of Turkish personnel under the agreement a legal basis. Until both approvals are secured, the process cannot move forward.
The lawmaker also described what a deployment would look like. Turkish personnel would not take part in offensive operations. Early deployments would focus on defensive support, including air defence, electronic warfare technologies and technical assistance.
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That role would let Turkiye offer military expertise and defensive capability to Saudi Arabia, which has faced repeated attacks attributed to the Iran-backed Houthis.
The proposal goes further than what officials said earlier. Two officials had indicated that Turkiye’s contribution would centre on military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems. They added that no other form of deployment had taken place under the alliance at that stage.
The lawmaker’s remarks suggest the scope could now grow to include technical personnel and military specialists. The lawmaker stressed that any such deployment would remain defensive in nature.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
