Turkey Ratifies Mecca Defence Pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan

Turkey's parliament ratified the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Thursday, approving the trilateral security pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan by 279 votes to 119, with 398 of the chamber's 592 lawmakers participating. The 16-article accord, first signed in August, includes a collective defence clause modelled on NATO's Article 5. Under Article 1, signatories commit to using "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity. Article 2 goes further, requiring that if any member suffers an armed attack or military aggression, the other parties shall immediately provide assistance "utilising the full range of mutual assistance measures available to them." The agreement also mandates joint training, intelligence sharing, and defence industry cooperation, and binds members for ten years, with provisions for additional countries to join. The ratification comes as Saudi Arabia faces an escalating campaign by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have launched deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has also repeatedly accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca and Medina — accusations the group systematically rejects. Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said in October that any Turkish support would focus on strengthening deterrence, adding that Ankara does not foresee entering into any conflict with the Houthis.