Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye hold first Makkah defence pact meeting in Istanbul

DPM Dar, Defence Minister Asif and CDF Munir representing Pakistan in the inaugural trilateral nations meeting

Web Desk

Published August 31, 2026

Turkiyes Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd left) and Saudi Arabias Defence Minister Khalid Bin Salman (3rd right) attend the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, in Istanbul on August 31, 2026. — AFP — Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd left) and Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Khalid Bin Salman (3rd right) attend the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, in Istanbul on August 31, 2026. — AFP

The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, began in Istanbul, Turkiye, on Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir are representing Pakistan at the high-level trilateral huddle.

The meeting is also being attended by the foreign and defence ministers, as well as the chiefs of general staff of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan’s participation in the meeting reflects its historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its commitment to lasting regional peace and stability.

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.