Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan held an emergency session of the Mecca Alliance for Defence's Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh on October 5, deciding to move immediately to the practical implementation of their collective-defence commitments — including the rapid deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities inside Saudi Arabia. It is the alliance's first substantive military move since its founding in August.
According to a joint statement issued by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, the three countries decided to "move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defence commitments," taking the necessary measures to provide the agreed forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom, in line with approved arrangements and each party's national legislation. The aim: stronger readiness, military integration and a collective capacity to confront threats. The statement stressed that each member's security is integral to their collective security.
The immediate trigger was a renewed wave of attacks by Yemen's Houthis. Saudi authorities say the Iran-backed group has carried out a series of missile and drone strikes against the Kingdom, including attempts to hit the holy cities of Mecca and Madinah; last week Saudi air defences intercepted a wave of Houthi missiles aimed at Riyadh, Taif and Yanbu. The three parties condemned "in the strongest terms" the attempted targeting of Mecca and Madinah and the continuing attacks on Saudi cities and civilian and economic facilities. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said the alliance would use collective deterrence measures against threats and those responsible.
The meeting drew senior delegations from all three sides. Pakistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir; Saudi Arabia by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Chief of General Staff Gen Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili; and Türkiye by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Gen Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. The committee also appointed retired Pakistani Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the alliance's first secretary-general for a three-year term. Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said the partners discussed steps to support Saudi Arabia's defence while also examining avenues to resolve regional issues peacefully through dialogue.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, pledging to treat an armed attack against one member as an attack against all three. Fidan has described the clause as technically similar to NATO's Article 5 collective-defence provision, while insisting no country — including Iran — has been named as a common threat. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says the agreement rests on the right of individual and collective self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The alliance held its inaugural committee meeting in Istanbul on August 31 and agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia. Monday's deployment decision marks the first step of this "new security architecture" moving from paper to practice.