Türkiye
Türkiye’s joint defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia takes effect after its law appears in the Official Gazette
- What happened
- The law approving the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defence between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was published in the Official Gazette on 14 November and took effect.
- Why it matters
- Under the pact an attack on one of the three counts as an attack on all, BBC Türkçe reports, a commitment the opposition says could drag Türkiye into others’ wars.
- What’s next
- The president is responsible for carrying out the law; the three armed forces are to step up coordination and defence industry work.
How this story developed
- 00:09First report
- +2
- 00:43+2 outlets in 15 min
- 01:595th source
- 10:306th source
- 13:157th source
- 00:09First reportA Haber
- 00:152nd sourceCumhuriyet
- 00:15ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 00:43+2 outlets in 15 minSözcü and Habertürk
- 01:595th sourceBBC Türkçe
- 10:306th sourceDiken
- 13:15Latest7th sourceEuronews Türkçe
Full story
In force
The law approving the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defence between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was published in the 14 November issue of the Official Gazette and took effect the same day, A Haber, Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, Habertürk, BBC Türkçe and other outlets reported. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman signed the 16-article pact in Mecca on 7 August, according to BBC Türkçe and Euronews Türkçe.
Parliament approved Law No. 7597 earlier this month; Cumhuriyet dates the vote to 5 November and BBC Türkçe to 6 November. BBC Türkçe said 279 MPs voted for and 119 against, with the AKP, MHP and CHP in favour and YENİ Parti, İYİ Parti, Yeniden Refah, DEM Parti and Saadet against.
What it commits to
Under the agreement an attack on one country counts as an attack on all three, and cooperation grows in joint production, intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism and the defence industry, BBC Türkçe reported. A Haber said the pact aims to raise the three countries’ collective deterrence against shared threats and improve coordination between their armed forces.
The government cites regional stability, collective deterrence and the needs of self-defence. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote in Anadolu Agency’s monthly AA Brifing that Türkiye had joined “to strengthen common security”, BBC Türkçe reported.
The opposition’s objections
Opposition parties argued in committee and in the general assembly that the pact had been put into practice before parliament approved it, pointing to meetings held under it and a decision to give military support to Saudi Arabia, which they called unconstitutional, according to BBC Türkçe.
They also said the alliance could pull Türkiye into conflicts and crises facing Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and create new military blocs rather than stability, and that the government had not shown what it adds to the protection Türkiye already has as a NATO member. Opposition speakers warned that the Houthis already describe the Mecca alliance countries as a threat, which they said could put Türkiye’s military presence in Somalia at risk.
