These days, a very big and shocking development has come to light from West Asia and South Asia in the international diplomacy and geopolitical circles. Three important countries of the Islamic world – Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have together put their seal of approval on a historic Joint Defense Agreement. Defense experts around the world are keeping an eye on this trilateral agreement. The complete draft of this agreement consisting of 16 articles, which came out recently, has made many such big revelations, which can decide the direction of global politics in the future. Under this agreement, while on one hand a mandatory condition has been set to remain in the alliance for at least 10 years, on the other hand, a rule has been made to give three months notice to exit from it. Let us know in detail what are the terms of this historic defense agreement signed in Mecca and what is its strategic significance. What are the main conditions of this new defense agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey? According to the documents revealed, this trilateral agreement has been named 'Makkah Joint Defense Agreement'. The biggest and most important condition of this agreement is fixed in its Article 16. According to this, the three countries signing this defense agreement will have to compulsorily remain in this alliance for at least 10 years. If after the completion of this period of 10 years, any of these member countries wants to withdraw from this agreement, it will be mandatory for them to give written notice at least three months in advance expressing their intention. The most interesting thing is that this 10 year period of the agreement will not be counted from the date of any paper signature, but it will come into effect from the day the final Ratification Documents are fully deposited with the official secretariat of the alliance. What will be the role of other countries if any one country is attacked? The most important and sensitive part of this new and stringent defense agreement is the one related to military assistance and security. It is very clearly provided in Article 2 of the Agreement that if there is any armed attack from outside on any one member country (be it Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or Turkey), then the remaining two countries will immediately come forward to protect it and will be obliged to assist with all their might. However, experts in the agreement also say that it does not mandate an identical or aggressive military response to every attack. The form, scale and method of assistance will depend on the actual strategic needs of the victim country and the level of military resources available to the allied countries at that time. This practical flexibility gives complete freedom to the governments of the three countries to take wise decisions according to their circumstances at the time of any major crisis. Turkey gives legal approval, proposal presented in Parliament Turkey has taken the fastest step towards legally strengthening this tripartite alliance. The Turkish government has presented this defense agreement in its parliament for official approval. Ankara's move further deepens its mutual defense ties with Riyadh, especially at a time when Saudi Arabia is facing continuous drone and missile attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels on its southern borders. Let us tell you that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formally signed this historic agreement in the holy city of Mecca on August 7. At the same time, these three top leaders had put forward this common principle before the world that "An armed attack on any one country will be considered an attack on all three countries." Apart from this, a big announcement was also made to increase mutual cooperation through joint military exercises, intelligence sharing and working together in defense production. Pakistan's full support and Turkey's clear defensive stance is currently putting this new defense agreement through its initial and biggest test due to the continuous drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. In an emergency high-level meeting held recently in Riyadh, these three countries have agreed to ensure prompt deployment of their military troops and defense capabilities on Saudi Arabian soil. Pakistan's military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary has issued a statement making it clear that Islamabad is ready to provide all possible help to protect the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia, its territorial integrity and the holy Islamic sites located there. Pakistan has described the security of these holy sites as paramount for itself and beyond any compromise. On the other hand, the situation regarding Turkiye's role has also become clear to a great extent. Turkey will cooperate in this alliance mainly through modern military equipment, advanced weapon systems and intelligence networks. However, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has made it clear that this is completely a 'defensive pact', and Turkey will not send its troops outside its borders to attack any other country or fight an aggressive war. It will be very interesting to see how this agreement affects the security equations of the Middle East and South Asia in the coming days.
