Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi sign mutual defence pact amid West Asia tensions

Lahore,UPDATED: Aug 8, 2026 14:18 IST

Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia on Friday signed a trilateral defence pact under which an attack on one of them will be treated as an attack on all three, amid rising security concerns linked to escalating tensions in West Asia. Some Pakistan-based defence analysts said the agreement could significantly reduce the United States' strategic role in the region.

They also said the pact could reshape perceptions of Pakistan's place in the international arena and act as a deterrent in the event of any future conflict between Pakistan and India.

Defence analyst Abdullah Hameed Gul, son of a former ISI chief, said the pact had emerged at a time when Gulf countries were increasingly doubtful about the United States' ability to provide security guarantees to its regional allies. "The US had 27 military bases in the Gulf countries, and 17 of them were destroyed by Iran during the recent US-Iran war. This led people in the region to question whether the Americans could actually protect them. That created the need for such an agreement," Gul said.

With the new pact, Gul said, America's "role in the region has been minimised -- or is effectively over." He also said, "Qatar and Kuwait will soon also join similar agreements with Pakistan," adding that Gulf countries had realised that Israel, rather than Iran, posed a greater security challenge to them.

Foreign affairs expert Muhammad Mehdi said the agreement had changed how Pakistan was being viewed globally. "Pakistan's standing in the world has changed. The world now sees Pakistan as having a major role to play in the Middle East and Central Asia. With Turkiye joining the three-nation arrangement, Pakistan will also be viewed differently in Europe," he said.

Retired Brigadier Farooq Hameed said the clause treating an attack on one member as an attack on all three could serve as a "deterrent" against any future conflict involving Pakistan and India. Overall, the pact has been presented by analysts as a response to changing security concerns in West Asia and as a sign of a shifting regional balance.

With PTI Inputs

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