Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed ratification of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, while the pact's third member, Turkiye, is still working through its domestic legal procedures, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said in Islamabad on Friday.
The three countries signed the agreement in August. Under it, an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. Khan said each country follows its own constitutional process to approve international agreements, and Turkiye submitted the pact to its parliament for ratification earlier this week.
"It is not directed against any particular country," Khan said. "It provides a framework for collective assistance in the event of external armed aggression against any party." He also said there were "no hidden provisions" in the agreement and that Pakistan endorsed the text released by the Turkish parliament.
The pact has taken on new weight as Houthi forces continue to attack Saudi Arabia. Earlier this week ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan was providing "whatever support is needed" to defend the kingdom. Asked whether the agreement could be formally invoked over the Houthi attacks, Khan said that was for the three partner countries to decide under its terms.
Khan voiced concern over the attacks, saying Pakistan supports Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity and believes only dialogue can end the conflict, while it "unequivocally" condemns attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office said earlier this month that the three countries had agreed to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities in the kingdom after an emergency meeting in Riyadh of the committee set up under the pact.