Turkey's parliament ratifies Mecca defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
Lawmakers voted 279 to 119 for the 16-clause agreement signed on 7 August; Ankara says no Turkish troops will fight in Yemen.
Turkey's parliament ratified the 16-clause Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Thursday, approving it by 279 votes to 119 in the 600-seat assembly.
A total of 398 members voted, according to Turkish media reports cited by Express News. The agreement binds the three countries to treat an attack on any one of them as an attack on all, to work together to prevent threats and expand military cooperation, to exchange intelligence and to strengthen defence industry ties.
Opposition parties argued the pact could pull Turkey into regional wars and put Turkish soldiers at risk. Murad Amir, a deputy leader of the opposition New Party's legislators, said the government had brought the agreement "to send Turkish troops to Yemen's deserts", Independent Urdu reported.
Fuat Oktay, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee and a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, said Turkey "will not be pushed into any uncontrolled process against its will". He said any troop deployment would need separate parliamentary approval in future.
Express News quoted ruling Justice and Development Party member Zia Altunyaladiz as saying the agreement's main aim was to promote security cooperation in the region. The committee chairman said the alliance was entirely defensive and not intended as aggression against any other country.
Turkey's armed forces, backed by a fast-growing domestic defence industry, are NATO's second largest. Turkish officials say Ankara is considering sending military assistance to Saudi Arabia but insist the agreement is defensive, and that no Turkish soldier will be deployed to fight in Yemen or attack the Houthis.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the pact in Mecca on 7 August, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Erdogan.
Turkish and Pakistani officials have stressed that the agreement does not target Iran or any other country. Independent Urdu reported that the vote came as regional states worry about a fresh escalation between the United States and Iran that could spread to neighbours; in a past war Iran struck Gulf Arab states allied with Washington, including Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, Shehbaz Sharif said the trilateral defence agreement was among the subjects discussed at high-level talks in Tehran last month, alongside efforts to reduce Middle East tension. Independent Urdu reported that the meeting on 26 October brought together Iranian leaders and senior officials of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The agreement is also seen as part of Saudi efforts to reduce its reliance on the United States and to diversify its security partnerships.
How the reports differ
Independent Urdu led on the prospect of Turkish military aid to Saudi Arabia and placed the vote against fears of a wider US-Iran confrontation, while Express News opened with the 7 August signing date and attributed the 279-119 count to Turkish media. Independent Urdu named the foreign affairs committee chairman as Fuat Oktay and quoted opposition New Party legislator Murad Amir; Express News quoted the committee chairman without naming him and cited ruling party member Zia Altunyaladiz. Independent Urdu alone carried Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Wednesday remarks that the pact came up at the 26 October Tehran talks.
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