With last week’s signing of the trilateral mutual defense pact known as the Makkah Agreement by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, a new regional security arrangement has been formed after months of consultations. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already signed a bilateral defense pact but NATO member Turkiye’s inclusion and the timing and setting of the deal drew significant attention. The Makkah Agreement has raised several questions regarding its intended purpose and future.

Not long ago, a Gulf state signing a regional defense pact that does not involve the US would have been seen in Washington as diplomatic theater — a reluctant hedge, even a…

The three Sunni Muslim countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7 that builds on a bilateral defence pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year | India…

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed recently by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, reflects the security pressures facing the three countries amid the deteriorating…