Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan Mecca pact ‘falls short’ of a Nato-style defence alliance

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Experts express skepticism about the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, noting it falls short of becoming an effective Islamic NATO due to diverging strategic interests and limited mutual defence capabilities. The pact aims to enhance regional deterrence but faces significant challenges from differing national priorities.

The security pact signed on Friday by three of the world’s most powerful Muslim nations with a vow to enhance collective deterrence remains far from what many are calling an Islamic Nato, according to experts. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf’s top oil exporter, Nato member Turkey and Pakistan, a nuclear-armed South Asian state, will be challenged by diverging strategic interests and weak mutual defence capacity, they said. The Mecca pact’s statement that...