Shifting sands: On the Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye Joint Defence Agreement

The joint defence agreement , signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in Mecca on August 7 reflects their shared strategic anxieties and the changes under way in West Asia’s security architecture. The three countries have pledged to bolster collective security and deterrence, and promised to treat an armed attack against one as an attack against all. On paper, this is a formidable alliance. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country with a powerful military; Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest crude oil exporters, has deep pockets and considerable influence across the Muslim world; and Türkiye has an expanding military industrial base, including advanced drone production capabilities. That the pact was announced in the middle of the war on Iran and Israel’s continuing bombing campaigns in the region is no coincidence. Faced with the prospect of reduced American strategic presence in West Asia, regional powers have begun looking beyond the traditional U.S. security umbrella for new partnerships. In September 2025, a few weeks after Israel bombed Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia announced a bilateral defence agreement. The war on Iran, which saw Tehran retaliating by striking U.S. bases across the Persian Gulf, and Israel’s wars in its neighbourhood, have further deepened the security concerns of Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. They have now decided to turn the page on their often fraught relationship and build a trilateral framework with Pakistan, which fought a short aerial war with India in May 2025.