ANKARA: Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will form political and military mechanisms under a defense pact signed between the regional powers last week, Turkiye’s defense ministry said on Thursday, adding the alliance would also deepen defense industry cooperation. The three countries signed the “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement” on Aug. 7, wedding Sunni Muslim US allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters.

Six months ago, it was unclear whether trilateral discussions between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye would produce a formal agreement. They now have.

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan’s Mecca Joint Defence Agreement creates a NATO-style collective-defence framework with nearly 1.4 million active personnel, about 3,400…