Saudi, Turkey & Pakistan sign defence pact, committing to ‘treat attack on one as attack on all’
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral defence agreement (the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement) at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca, committing to treat an armed attack on any one signatory as an attack on all three.
The agreement follows nearly a year of negotiations and builds on an existing bilateral Saudi-Pakistan defence pact concluded in September 2025.
Egypt had been reported as a likely fourth signatory but did not join the final agreement.
Officials described the pact's objectives as strengthening collective deterrence, deepening defence cooperation across military domains, and enhancing joint military readiness, while stating it does not represent a "military axis," sectarian bloc, or nuclear ambition.
The signing takes place amid heightened regional tensions in West Asia, including missile and drone attacks affecting Gulf energy infrastructure.
Mutual/Collective Defence Clauses — Comparison with NATO Article 5
A mutual defence clause is a treaty provision under which signatories commit to treat an attack on one member as an attack on all, triggering collective military assistance. The clearest institutionalised precedent is NATO's Article 5, though the Makkah agreement is a standalone trilateral pact, not part of a permanent multilateral security organisation like NATO.
Key Details
- NATO's Article 5 (North Atlantic Treaty, signed 4 April 1949) states that an armed attack against one or more parties "in Europe or North America" is considered an attack against all, invoking the right of individual/collective self-defence under UN Charter Article 51.
- Article 5 has been formally invoked only once — after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.
- Under international law, such mutual defence commitments derive their legality from Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognises the "inherent right of individual or collective self-defence" against armed attack.
The Makkah pact borrows the "attack on one is an attack on all" formulation associated with NATO's Article 5, but unlike NATO it lacks a permanent joint command structure, and its ambit is limited to three states rather than a standing alliance.
Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (2025) and the Nuclear Dimension
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement on 17 September 2025 at Riyadh, committing both states to treat an attack on either as an attack on both. This pact, the first of its kind between the two, raised international concern because Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state while Saudi Arabia is a Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) member state without nuclear weapons.
Key Details
- Signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
- The text does not explicitly mention nuclear weapons, but subsequent official statements from Pakistan raised the possibility of extending Pakistan's nuclear deterrence/capability to Saudi Arabia, prompting global non-proliferation concerns.
- It marked a shift for Gulf states away from exclusive reliance on the United States for security guarantees.
The 2026 trilateral Makkah pact expands this bilateral 2025 framework to include Turkey (a NATO member), broadening the emerging Sunni-majority security architecture beyond the original Saudi-Pakistan dyad.
India's Position on West Asian and South Asian Security Alignments
India maintains strategic autonomy and bilateral engagement with all Gulf and West Asian states individually (via mechanisms such as the I2U2 grouping and strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE), while remaining watchful of security arrangements that could affect the regional balance involving Pakistan.
Key Details
- India-Saudi Arabia relations are anchored in the Strategic Partnership Council (established 2019), covering political, security, trade, defence and energy cooperation.
- India's independent West Asia policy operates alongside groupings such as I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE, US, formed 2021) and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC, announced at the G20 in 2023).
- Pakistan's expanding defence linkages with Gulf states are tracked by India primarily through the lens of regional security balance and any implications for South Asian strategic stability.
A trilateral pact involving Pakistan and two major West Asian powers has direct relevance for India's regional security calculus, given Pakistan's role as India's principal security concern in South Asia and the potential for expanded external defence cooperation involving Pakistan.
- Pact signed: 7 August 2026, at Al-Safa Palace, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
- Signatories: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan; Egypt did not sign despite earlier reports.
- Preceded by the bilateral Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed 17 September 2025 in Riyadh.
- NATO's Article 5 (1949) is the most cited historical precedent for "attack on one is attack on all" clauses; invoked only once, after 9/11 (2001).
- Negotiations for the trilateral pact reportedly spanned nearly one year before signing.