The Makkah Defence Alliance: From Agreement to Joint Defence Power

The balance of power in the Middle East is shifting once again. Rising tensions stretching from the Red Sea to Bab al-Mandab, threats emanating from Yemen and the emerging security challenges facing Saudi Arabia have given rise to a new defence arrangement whose implications will extend well beyond the Gulf. The Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia is no longer merely a diplomatic agreement. It has entered the phase of building an institutional structure and putting its collective defence commitments into practice.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, concluded on 7 August 2026, laid the foundation for linking the security of the three countries. At the time, however, one fundamental question remained: would the agreement become another political declaration, like so many regional defence arrangements before it, or would it evolve into a functioning defence mechanism?

The English Editorial emergency meeting held in Riyadh on 5 October provided the first clear answer.

The Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Defence Alliance agreed to take immediate steps to implement collective defence commitments, provide Saudi Arabia with the agreed military forces and defence capabilities, and accelerate the measures required for their deployment. The meeting also advanced the initial institutional structure of the alliance’s secretariat, while retired Pakistani Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was appointed its first Secretary-General for a three-year term.

This is not routine diplomacy. The real strength of any defence alliance is measured not by the language of its founding document but by its institutions, decision-making mechanisms, military coordination and ability to respond rapidly in a crisis. The Makkah Alliance has now reached the threshold of that test.

From Treaty to Institution

Defence alliances are created around the world, but relatively few survive the transition from political agreement to permanent institution. In the case of the Makkah Alliance, the most significant development is precisely the decision by the three countries to give the arrangement a lasting institutional framework.

The creation of a secretariat is not simply an administrative necessity. It means that coordination among Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia will no longer depend solely on emergency meetings. A permanent mechanism can now provide continuity in areas ranging from follow-up on decisions and joint planning to defence cooperation, training, logistics, intelligence and defence industry coordination.

The appointment of retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the alliance’s first Secretary-General is part of the same process. It signals that the alliance is beginning to move beyond political declarations and acquire an institutional life of its own.

Yet it would be equally wrong to exaggerate the significance of this development. The Makkah Alliance is not a NATO-style unified military command, nor have the armed forces of the three countries been placed under a common command structure. Military command and national decision-making remain firmly in the hands of each country’s own institutions.

The significance lies elsewhere: the basic institutional machinery needed to turn a common defence framework into an operational reality is now being built.

Saudi Arabia: From Threat Perception to Collective Defence

The first driver behind the Makkah Alliance’s activation is the security environment confronting Saudi Arabia. Developments in Yemen, rising tensions in the Red Sea and attacks targeting Saudi cities, civilian and economic infrastructure have reinforced Riyadh’s recognition that national defence capabilities alone may not be sufficient; regional partnerships are also necessary.

At the 5 October meeting, the three countries renewed their commitment to treating Saudi security as part of a broader collective security framework. For Riyadh, the message is straightforward: if Saudi Arabia’s security comes under attack, it will not have to defend itself alone.

That is the alliance’s core strategic value.

Saudi Arabia possesses substantial financial resources, a critical geopolitical position and rapidly modernising defence capabilities. But in an increasingly complex regional security environment, Riyadh needs partners capable of providing more than political support—partners that can, when necessary, contribute military, technical and intelligence capabilities.

This is where Pakistan and Türkiye become particularly important.

Pakistan: Commitment Is Clear, Operational Details Are Not

Pakistan is one of the principal pillars of the Makkah Alliance. Islamabad has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and stressed that the Makkah Agreement is a collective-defence arrangement, not an offensive alliance.

Pakistan’s military spokesman, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has also made clear that if any one of the three countries comes under attack, the parties will take a joint decision, while operational details of the agreement cannot be disclosed.

This is perhaps the most important point to understand amid the current debate.

Reports have emerged claiming that Pakistan could deploy between 30,000 and 40,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. Pakistani authorities, however, have not confirmed those figures. The Ministry of Information has stressed that details concerning the implementation of collective defence capabilities are matters of operational secrecy and should not become the subject of media speculation.

The more responsible conclusion, therefore, is that Pakistan has demonstrated a practical commitment to participating in collective defence measures under the Makkah framework, while the precise number of troops and other operational details remain officially undisclosed.

At the same time, the Saudi Ministry of Defence’s announcement that a Pakistani military contingent had arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base is a significant practical indicator. According to the Saudi statement, the Pakistani contingent included fighter and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, with the stated objective of strengthening military coordination and operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries.

The significance is clear: Pakistan-Saudi defence cooperation is no longer merely a matter of future planning.

Türkiye: Defence Commitment and Constitutional Restraint

Türkiye brings a different but equally important dimension to the alliance. Ankara has endorsed the principle of collective defence while making clear that the Makkah Agreement is not an offensive alliance.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that if any member of the agreement comes under attack, the other parties will stand with it in its defence. At the same time, he has stressed that Türkiye will not send troops into another country’s territory to launch an attack.

That distinction matters enormously in the current regional environment, particularly as attempts are being made to link the activation of the Makkah Alliance to the war in Yemen.

Türkiye’s position is clear: collective defence will be supported, but the defence agreement will not be turned into a justification for offensive military operations.

Following the 5 October meeting, Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defence said that the necessary steps for providing and deploying the agreed military forces and defence capabilities to Saudi Arabia had been considered. It also made clear that any such process would be conducted in accordance with Türkiye’s Constitution and relevant laws.

That legal dimension is crucial to understanding Ankara’s role.

Fidan has also indicated that the necessary work to submit the Makkah Agreement to the Turkish Parliament is nearing completion. This suggests that Ankara intends to advance the alliance not merely as a political declaration but as an operational defence framework within Türkiye’s own constitutional and legal order.

Türkiye’s potential contribution, therefore, should not be understood solely in terms of ground troops. Defence equipment, drone technology, intelligence cooperation, air defence, training, technical assistance and other military capabilities could all form part of the partnership.

Will Türkiye Send Troops to Saudi Arabia?

This is currently the most closely watched question. Yet the existing official statements do not provide a definitive answer.

Türkiye has considered steps to provide Saudi Arabia with military forces and defence capabilities, but no specific Turkish military unit, troop number or deployment period has been announced.

That distinction is critical.

Providing air-defence systems, sharing intelligence, deploying technical specialists or sending training teams to support Saudi Arabia’s defence is one form of military assistance. Sending ground forces to conduct direct combat operations would be an entirely different political and military decision.

The most accurate reading of Ankara’s official position, therefore, is that Türkiye is not retreating from its commitment to collective defence, but is keeping the nature and scope of its military participation subject to national law and political decision-making. That caution should not be mistaken for weakness. It is a reflection of state responsibility.

The Yemen Question

The future of the Makkah Alliance is tied to a fundamental question: will the alliance remain focused on the defence of Saudi Arabia, or will it play a role in the war inside Yemen?

The current positions of the three countries must be kept in view.

The foundation of the Makkah Agreement is collective defence, not a joint offensive war against another country. Türkiye has articulated this distinction most explicitly.

Defending Saudi territory, airspace, population centres and critical infrastructure is one matter. Conducting military operations inside Yemen is another.

If the Makkah Alliance provides Saudi Arabia with missile defence, aerial surveillance, intelligence, counter-drone capabilities or other defensive systems, such measures can reasonably be understood within the framework of collective defence. But if the alliance itself becomes directly involved in combat operations inside Yemen, the political, legal and regional consequences would be far more complicated.

One of the alliance’s most important tests, therefore, will be whether it can maintain a clear boundary between defensive strategy and direct warfare.

Defence Industry: The Alliance’s Long-Term Strategic Power

The defence industry may be the least discussed but one of the most consequential dimensions of the Makkah Alliance.

The 5 October meeting also considered a framework for cooperation in defence industries. Over time, this could transform the alliance from a military agreement into a broader and more durable defence partnership.

Türkiye has developed significant capabilities in drones, defence electronics, missile systems and other military technologies. Pakistan brings extensive military experience, defence production capabilities and a large, highly trained armed force. Saudi Arabia contributes financial resources and the capacity to acquire and develop advanced defence systems.

If the three countries can integrate these strengths, opportunities could emerge for joint production, technology transfer, training, logistics and greater interoperability between defence systems.

This may ultimately be the area in which the Makkah Alliance has its greatest long-term impact.

An “Islamic NATO”?

Calling the Makkah Alliance an “Islamic NATO” may be politically attractive, but analytically it would be premature.

NATO has decades of experience in integrated command structures, permanent military planning, extensive institutions and joint operations. The Makkah Alliance is nowhere near that level.

That does not diminish its significance.

The alliance could instead develop a different model: three sovereign states retaining their national military command structures while coordinating their capabilities against specific threats. In that form, it would resemble a network of shared defence capabilities rather than a conventional joint army.

The success of such a model will depend not on slogans but on coordination, intelligence-sharing, joint training, defence-industrial cooperation and the ability to make rapid decisions in a crisis.

What Has Actually Changed?

The most important development in the Makkah Defence Alliance is not simply that three countries signed an agreement. The real change is that the process of giving that agreement institutions, procedures and operational capacity has begun.

The 7 August agreement provided the political foundation.

The 5 October Riyadh meeting began the process of turning that foundation into an institutional structure.

The creation of the secretariat and appointment of a Secretary-General provided administrative continuity.

And the decision to implement collective defence commitments immediately and provide Saudi Arabia with the agreed military forces and defence capabilities gave the alliance an operational direction.

The next stage is to turn that commitment into a credible and sustainable defence capability.

That is where the alliance’s real strength will be tested.

The Test Is No Longer Power. It Is Credibility.

The story of the Makkah Defence Alliance has moved beyond the stage of declarations.

Pakistan has maintained its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security while keeping operational details under wraps. Saudi Arabia has moved to activate collective defence capabilities and work with its partners to strengthen the defence of its territory. Türkiye has backed the defensive framework while rejecting an offensive interpretation of the alliance and keeping its military role subject to constitutional and legal procedures.

Taken together, these positions reveal the alliance’s emerging strategic character.

It is not being built to start a war. It is being built to create the capacity to deter one.

The alliance’s real strength will not be measured simply by how many Pakistani troops arrive in Saudi Arabia, how many aircraft are deployed or how many weapons systems are supplied. Its true strength will lie in whether a potential aggressor comes to believe that an attack on Saudi Arabia would not be an attack on Saudi Arabia alone.

If Pakistan succeeds in bringing its military strength, Türkiye its defence technology and Saudi Arabia its geographic and financial weight into an effective institutional framework, the Makkah Alliance could become a new strategic defence reality linking the Middle East and South Asia.

But achieving that will require all three countries to undertake a difficult task: translating political commitment into permanent institutions, clear rules, credible military capabilities and rapid decision-making mechanisms.

The 5 October Riyadh meeting was the first major step in that direction.

The world will now watch Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh to see whether the three capitals can transform their commitment into a defence system capable of generating genuine trust among the allies when a crisis arrives.

Because the real test of a defence alliance does not come on the day a treaty is signed.

The real test comes when the threat is at the door—and the allies must decide who will turn words into action.

Dr. Furkan Hamit