ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday thanked US President Donald Trump for supporting the Makkah Defense Pact recently signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening regional security.
Trump welcomed the landmark defense pact, calling it an “important first step” toward enhancing security in the region. “Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement”, Trump said in a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
The leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the agreement in Makkah earlier this month. Under the pact, an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all three.
“Deeply appreciate President Donald Trump’s kind words of support on the signing of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.
“Together with the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Türkiye, Pakistan will continue to play a constructive role in ensuring the defense of our own countries as well as the entire region,” he added.
Deeply appreciate President Donald Trump’s kind words of support on the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.
Together with the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkiye, Pakistan will continue to play a constructive role in ensuring the defence of… pic.twitter.com/qdemVBYkLq
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 17, 2026
The prime minister also thanked Trump for his role in brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India following their military conflict in May 2025. Sharif said Trump’s intervention helped avert a “nuclear catastrophe in South Asia” and saved millions of lives.
The Pakistan-Saudi-Türkiye defense agreement was signed amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Islamabad has repeatedly clarified that the pact is not directed against any particular country and said other nations could join the arrangement if they agree to uphold its principles.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained longstanding military ties and signed a separate mutual defense agreement in September 2025. Islamabad and Ankara have also expanded their military and defense-industrial cooperation in recent years.
The three countries bring significant but distinct strategic capabilities to the new alliance. Saudi Arabia is a major Gulf power and economic heavyweight, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country. Türkiye, meanwhile, is a NATO member with a large military and an increasingly advanced domestic defense industry.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have also been involved in diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran. The US-Iran conflict, which began in February, was paused by an April ceasefire and followed by a framework for peace talks in June, although those negotiations later collapsed.
Since then, the United States and Iran have continued to exchange fire intermittently, with much of the fighting focused on southern Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran continues to restrict for commercial shipping.
Indirect diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran, involving Pakistan and other mediators, have continued, although there has so far been little indication of a major breakthrough.
