Pakistan did not direct its new defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey against any country, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

According to him, the agreement is “purely defensive in nature” and remains open to other countries in the region if they are ready to abide by its principles and resolve disagreements through peaceful means.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed on Friday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The pact provides for deeper military and strategic cooperation among the three countries amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Under the agreement, an armed attack on one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all three. Dar stressed that this provision is consistent with the right of states to individual and collective self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

“The agreement concluded in Mecca does not cancel or replace these countries’ existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements with one another, or with other states or organizations,” the Pakistani minister wrote on social media platform X.

A day earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said that the agreement is not aimed against Iran or any other country.

At the same time, military experts in Pakistan urged against comparing the new pact to NATO, despite the collective defense clause. In their assessment, the agreement was concluded amid escalating regional tensions, but should not be viewed as being directed against Iran.

The three countries have different military and economic capabilities. Pakistan has significant military potential and is the only nuclear power among Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia has vast financial resources and considerable influence in the region, and Turkey, as a NATO member, has large armed forces and a developed defense industry.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close military ties for decades and in September 2025 signed a separate mutual defense agreement. Turkey and Pakistan have also expanded military and defense-industrial cooperation in recent years.