Pakistan likely to host Makkah defence pact meeting this month

Pakistan is likely to host a meeting of the countries party to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement this month, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry told Independent Urdu on Monday.

The official, described by the outlet as directly briefed on the plan, said Islamabad is continuing diplomatic efforts to reduce tension generated by the dispute between the United States and Iran.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the agreement in Makkah on 7 August 2026. Under its terms, an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all of them.

The strategic political and defence committee is the alliance's main decision-making body. It brings together the three countries' foreign ministers, defence ministers and senior military officials.

Independent Urdu reported that the meeting is expected while regional tension between Washington and Tehran persists, and while Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, energy installations and other infrastructure continue. The strikes have badly disrupted civil aviation in the kingdom, the outlet reported.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained military cooperation for decades. Riyadh has also repeatedly moved to support Islamabad financially during periods of economic difficulty, according to Independent Urdu.

The two countries signed a separate bilateral defence agreement in September 2025.

Independent Urdu, citing Reuters, reported in May that Islamabad had deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter aircraft and an air defence system to Saudi Arabia under the agreement.

Pakistan has assured Saudi Arabia that it is committed to protecting the kingdom's territorial integrity and sovereignty in the face of the Houthi attacks. Islamabad has called on the group fighting in Yemen to return to negotiations and to stop attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure immediately.

The committee of the Makkah agreement met in Riyadh last month to review the security situation and the threats facing Saudi Arabia, the outlet reported.

The three countries say other states may join the defence agreement. They describe the pact as defensive in nature and directed against no particular country.

No date for the meeting has been announced. The Foreign Ministry has issued no public statement on the reported plan, and Independent Urdu's account rests on a single official it did not name.