Turkiye Ratifies Makkah Defence Pact With Pakistan
Turkiye’s parliament has ratified the Makkah defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, completing the approval process for the trilateral security agreement.
Lawmakers endorsed the measure by 279 votes to 119 on Thursday, with 398 of the chamber’s 592 members taking part in the ballot. The vote clears the way for the pact to come into force, now that all three countries have finished ratification.
The measure, formally titled the Bill on the Approval of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between the Republic of Turkiye, Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, passed after a lengthy debate among the parties.
How the vote went
Ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker Ziya Altunyaldiz told the debate that the agreement aims to expand security cooperation in the region. He stressed that it contains no approach against any third country, and that its main goal is to prevent conflicts rather than escalate them.
Opposition speakers raised reservations about the pact’s scope and oversight. Mehmet Guzelmansur of the Republican People’s Party said clear rules are needed so the agreement does not contradict Turkiye’s other international obligations.
The debate matters because Turkiye was the last of the three countries to ratify. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had already completed their own processes, and the Foreign Office in Islamabad said last month that Turkiye was undertaking the requisite procedures under its own domestic law.
What the Makkah defence pact covers
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement at a trilateral summit in Makkah on August 7. The three countries pledged to strengthen collective security, deepen defence cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.
The pact provides a framework for collective assistance if any of the three countries faces external armed aggression. The nature and extent of the assistance would be decided collectively, in light of the circumstances at the time.
The agreement moved towards implementation after an October 5 meeting of the alliance’s Strategic, Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh. That meeting called for the immediate implementation of collective defence commitments and the rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia of military forces and capabilities already agreed upon, subject to the national legislation of the parties.
The step-by-step path to ratification has been public. Turkiye took its first step towards ratification on November 5, when parliament adopted the first article of the bill. Thursday’s vote finished the job.
The pact sits alongside other defence moves Pakistan has made this year. The federal cabinet has also approved a defence agreement with Kuwait, and Pakistan and Tajikistan concluded the Dosti-III counter-terrorism exercise at Cherat on Friday.
The timing is tied to the fighting in the region. The Foreign Office linked progress on the pact to escalating tensions over attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement. Saudi Arabia denied on Friday a report that the Houthis had demanded $51bn to halt hostilities, and Iran engaged Pakistan this week to defuse tensions as the regional war widened.
Diplomacy has run in parallel with the defence track. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday adopted a Pakistan-led statement urging diplomacy during wars, calling on countries to keep talking even after fighting starts.
What happens next
With ratification complete in all three capitals, the focus shifts to implementation. The October 5 committee meeting already called for the rapid deployment of agreed forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia, and the three governments will now need to turn that call into concrete movements, exercises and command arrangements.
Turkiye’s parliament has given its approval. The pact’s real test will be whether the three countries can act together quickly if one of them comes under attack, and whether the framework holds when the region’s next crisis arrives.
What is the Makkah defence pact?
It is a trilateral joint defence agreement between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, signed in Makkah on August 7, 2026, providing a framework for collective assistance if any of the three faces external armed aggression.
Who has ratified the pact?
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia completed ratification first. Turkiye’s parliament approved it on November 5, 2026, by 279 votes to 119, making it the last of the three to ratify.
Does the pact target any country?
No. AK Party lawmaker Ziya Altunyaldiz told parliament it contains no approach against any third country and aims to prevent conflicts rather than escalate them.
What happens now that ratification is complete?
The three countries move to implementation, including the rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia of forces and capabilities already agreed upon, as called for by the alliance’s committee in Riyadh on October 5.
