Makkah Defense Pact is Purely Defensive and Will Not Impact Relations with Iran, Asserts DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has pointed out that the Makkah Defense Pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey is a defensive pact and is not meant for an attack.
In a special dialogue with Al Arabiya, the military spokesman said that the Makkah agreement is a historic and enduring agreement as all three countries maintain strong diplomatic and strategic relations with each other.
Joint Decision Making, operational confidentiality, aggression.
Talking about the strategic framework of the pact, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that in case of any external aggression against any one of the three countries, the three nations would consult with each other and take a decision accordingly. He wouldn’t, however, release specifics of his operations, adding that there’s no country or military that publishes its operational security playbook.
The DG ISPR pointed out that the tripartite pact does not have to worry any regional actor because the key thrust of the pact is regional peace and stability. He pointed out that all three countries have close bilateral relations with China, but Pakistan’s close strategic ties with China is based on different interests and cannot be directly compared with China.
A sense of security in Pakistan-Iran relations.Assurance in Pakistan-Iran relations.
When asked about the possibility of any complications or strain arising due to the Makkah Defense Pact in Pakistan-Iran relations, the DG ISPR strongly emphasized that the pact is based purely on mutual defense and not any aggressive intention on either side.