Pakistan Completes Ratification of Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remains

Pakistan announced Friday that it has completed its ratification of a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, a move that leaves Ankara as the sole signatory still working through the approval process. The timing comes as Saudi Arabia faces renewed missile and drone attacks from Yemen's Houthis.

Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said both Islamabad and Riyadh have finished their ratification procedures for the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which the three nations signed on 7 August. "Matters related to the agreement, its ratification, and operationalisation remain under discussion by the three parties," Khan said, according to a Foreign Office transcript. The pact has not been ratified by all three signatories because Turkey is still conducting its domestic approval process.

The agreement was signed in Mecca by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It establishes collective defense if any of the three states faces an external armed attack, with the scale of assistance determined by the circumstances. Pakistan has described the pact as defensive and consistent with the UN Charter. The agreement moved closer to implementation after a 5 October meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the three countries, which called for collective defense commitments to be carried out and for military forces to be deployed rapidly in Saudi Arabia, subject to each country's domestic laws.

The ratification announcement follows security alerts inside Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's Civil Defence issued warnings this week about possible danger in parts of the country, including Abha and Khamis Mushait in the southwest, and later said the danger had passed. Authorities did not identify the threat but told residents to follow safety instructions and avoid gathering or filming in affected areas, according to Anadolu Agency.

Those alerts overlapped with Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported on 21 October that Riyadh's allies have mainly provided defensive support as the kingdom works to protect its infrastructure against additional strikes.

In Israel, the military announced large-scale exercises for Sunday and Monday involving the air force and units from the Northern and Central Commands. The drills will rehearse responses to surprise air and land attacks and infiltrations. The preparations follow a Friday comment by President Trump that the United States might carry out another military operation against Iran as that conflict nears its eighth month. A report by The Business Times, citing US officials, said American and Israeli forces have prepared plans for new strikes after the 3 November US midterm elections, with possible targets including Iranian energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone capabilities.