Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Lahore: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned home on Saturday, August 8, after completing his three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, which culminated in the signing of a joint defence agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, amid heightened tensions in West Asia.
Sharif arrived at Lahore airport where he was received by officials, his office said.
The most consequential outcome of the visit was the joint defence agreement signed on Friday by Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Al-Safa Palace in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all three.
The pact also provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three countries, according to a joint statement issued after the signing of the agreement.
Sharif was accompanied on the visit by his deputy Ishaq Dar and Army chief Asim Munir among others.
The trilateral agreement follows the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in 2025, under which aggression against either country was to be considered aggression against both.
Talking to PTI on Saturday, former Pakistan information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who is now an opposition leader, said the agreement represented a clear political signal that Islamabad, Riyadh and Ankara intended to deepen defence coordination and develop greater collective capacity.
However, he added, the picture will become clearer once the details of the agreement come out.
Chaudhry said the agreement should not be viewed as being directed against Iran.
He further said: “It is hoped this agreement is not taken as anti-Iran. Turkiye’s relations with Saudi Arabia had never been ideal since World War II. Pakistan must have played its role to bring both Turks and Saudis close. Now the Middle East’s resources will be used for Pakistan’s defence capabilities.”
The latest pact comes as the conflict in West Asia has widened across multiple fronts, including the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, prompting Gulf states to strengthen regional security coordination.
During the ongoing conflict, Iran launched multiple attacks on Gulf countries hosting US bases and warned them against allowing their territory to be used for American attacks on it.
Pakistan has sought to play a mediatory role between the United States and Iran. Islamabad said last week that it was “doing its utmost” to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June.
This post was last modified on August 8, 2026 7:47 pm