Islamabad, September 16, 2026: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said the Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye has no regional or aggressive ambitions and is intended solely for collective deterrence and defence.
Speaking in an interview with Al Arabiya English’s Global News Today, hosted by Tom Burges Watson, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the tripartite agreement formalised Pakistan’s decades-old relationships with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in the areas of collective deterrence and defence.
Asked whether the agreement was primarily defensive cooperation or represented the beginning of a broader strategic alliance, the DG ISPR said its nature was clear from its name.
“It is defensive. There’s nothing aggressive. There are no regional aspirations. It is collective deterrence,” he said, describing the agreement as “complementary” to the three countries’ existing relationships.
He explained that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye maintained independent relationships with other countries, blocs and alliances, adding that the mutual defence agreement was not intended to compete with any of those relationships.
Regarding the pact’s mutual defence obligation, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the text made public by the leadership of the three countries clearly enunciated the commitment.
However, he said the manner in which the defensive commitments would be operationalised was not something countries normally disclose publicly.
“What you’re asking is the how part — that how we are going to defend Pakistan against any aggression,” he said, adding that such details were subject to operational classification and security considerations.
He said the practical response to an attack on any member would be determined by the three countries when required.
Pact complements ties with China
Asked whether the alliance could compete with or complement Pakistan’s relationship with China, Lt Gen Chaudhry said it complemented Islamabad-Beijing ties.
He said Pakistan’s relationships with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye were historic and had not emerged suddenly, adding that China and the international community understood the longstanding nature of those ties.
He stressed that all three members of the Makkah Defence Alliance also maintained strong relations with China.
“Nobody has any problem with that. Everyone understands that this is defensive. Everyone understands it is for maintaining stability and peace in the region,” he said.
The DG ISPR also rejected the notion that the alliance was being created exclusively as a Muslim-world security club.
“There is nothing in this pact which says that it is a Muslim alliance,” he said, describing it instead as an arrangement focused on regional stability.
He said any future expansion would be a matter for the leadership of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
The agreement, he added, could potentially include other willing partners that shared a commitment to regional peace, stability and security and subscribed to principles of non-aggression, non-interference and collective deterrence.
The three countries first needed to determine the future course of the alliance, he said, leaving decisions about “how and when” to the leadership of the member states.
The joint defence pact was signed on August 7 and stipulates that an attack on one member state would be treated as an attack on all. Its inaugural meeting was held in Istanbul on August 31, where Pakistan was initially assigned responsibility for heading the alliance’s secretariat for three years.
Pakistan’s mediation role in US-Iran conflict
During the interview, Lt Gen Chaudhry was also asked whether the Makkah Defence Alliance could complicate Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the United States and Iran.
He rejected the suggestion, saying the alliance was based on decades-old strategic relationships and represented their formalisation in the prevailing regional environment.
He reiterated that the pact had no offensive or aggressive component and was based on collective deterrence.
Asked why Pakistan had chosen to mediate in the Middle East conflict, he replied: “For regional peace.”
He said peace was essential for stability, development and prosperity, adding that Pakistan had a “unique position” because of its policy of engagement and alignment with countries across the world.
This, he said, allowed Pakistan to act as an “objective arbiter of peace” and an “honest broker of peace”.
On progress in the mediation process, Lt Gen Chaudhry said an important prerequisite of successful mediation was objectivity and neutrality.
He said Pakistan’s political and military leadership had been reaching out to all sides with the objective of encouraging a negotiated settlement rather than a military solution.
Responding to a question about what Pakistan would do if the United States or Iran rejected its mediation efforts, he questioned whether there was any preferable alternative to mediation for resolving the conflict.
He stressed the need for a “negotiated, peaceful outcome” and said countries capable of mediating objectively and sincerely should continue their efforts.
Pakistan confident of securing western borders
Asked whether Islamabad was concerned about the conflict spilling over towards Pakistan’s western borders, the DG ISPR said Pakistan was confident in its ability to protect its borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He acknowledged that any major conflict could have horizontal or vertical spillover effects and said the repercussions were being felt internationally.
“There are concerns in multiple domains,” he said, but added that Pakistan was fully confident of dealing with any hostile designs directed towards the country.
He said Pakistan’s objective was not simply to prevent a conflict from reaching its own territory but to promote regional peace and stability because these were essential for development and prosperity.
Military communication with India remains possible
Turning to Pakistan-India relations, Watson asked about lessons learned from the brief military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May last year.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said the more important issue was what Pakistan and its military had demonstrated during the confrontation.
He described military conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbouring countries as “out of question” and said Pakistan had demonstrated that India’s actions during the confrontation amounted to what he called a “strategic folly”.
Asked whether India had learned that lesson, he said that was for the Indian side to determine.
“Our job in Pakistan is to keep on reminding them of that lesson,” he said.
He accused the Indian side of having what he described as a “hubristic mindset” and said the Indian military was “deeply politicised”.
He also alleged that India had a tendency to externalise internal problems, citing the treatment of minorities, while saying New Delhi sought to “internalise” the Kashmir issue through repression.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said Pakistan continued to communicate to India that it believed in “peace on equal terms” and regarded itself as a rational and objective actor.
He warned that any Indian misconception about establishing regional hegemony through military aggression could have serious consequences.
He said Pakistan had demonstrated during the May 2025 conflict that it possessed the capability and resolve to control escalation.
“And we’ll do it again,” he said.
Despite the tensions, the DG ISPR said there were realistic prospects for restoring sustained military-to-military communication between the two countries.
He said communication between the directors general of military operations had remained effective during the May conflict and afterwards.
“Communication is always good. We must communicate, we must engage, but that engagement has to be done on equal terms while respecting each other’s integrity and sovereignty,” he said.
On resuming broader dialogue with India, he said the decision rested with the political leadership but maintained that any engagement should be conducted on equal terms.
He added that dialogue should not be used to provide cover for what Pakistan describes as Indian state-sponsored terrorism or aggression.
Pakistan seeks end to terrorism from Afghanistan
On Afghanistan, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the military’s objectives were part of the broader objectives established by Pakistan’s political leadership.
“There is no separate military end state,” he said.
According to him, Pakistan’s fundamental objective was to ensure that Afghanistan did not interfere in Pakistan’s affairs or serve as a source of terrorism against the country.
Asked what options Pakistan considered legitimate if diplomacy failed to prevent cross-border attacks, he referred to the right of self-defence recognised under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
He said the Pakistani state had an obligation to protect the lives, honour and property of its citizens and that “all that is necessary will be done and is being done”.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s counter-terrorism campaign, describing it as the “only successful counter-terrorism campaign in the world” and portraying Pakistan as a frontline state against terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said 42,000 intelligence-based operations had been conducted during the current year, resulting in the deaths of 2,100 terrorists, according to figures he provided during the interview.
DG ISPR rejects characterisation of Balochistan situation as insurgency
On Balochistan, the military spokesperson rejected the characterisation of the situation as an insurgency, saying there was “just terrorism” in the province.
He said the military had both tactical and strategic clarity regarding the situation.
Of the 42,000 intelligence-based operations he cited, more than 32,000 had been conducted in Balochistan, he said.
He said security forces were targeting what he described as “proxies” operating in the province, while stressing that the government, people of Balochistan and military shared an understanding that terrorism had to be addressed through action against militants alongside engagement with the local population.
He said the approach involved “taking out” terrorists while also “embracing the people of Balochistan”.
The DG ISPR’s comments come amid continued regional security challenges, Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts regarding the Middle East conflict, and ongoing discussions over the future role and scope of the newly established Makkah Defence Alliance.
