Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says the Makkah defence pact is being institutionalised, with deployment and a headquarters the remaining steps (Express Tribune).
What he said
“The Makkah alliance is at a good stage, and there’s a very strong will behind it.”
“The only stage remaining now is to deploy personnel and establish its headquarters.”
“I believe that once steps toward institutionalisation are taken, further talks will be held on bringing in new allies from the region.”
“The Makkah alliance will be a very game-changing platform.”
On Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, he said Türkiye would “take this up with Pakistan”, and that the alliance would “provide the necessary technical support”.
The discrepancy that needs stating
Two days ago Pakistan’s military spokesman, asked whether Pakistani forces are physically present in Saudi Arabia, said: “I think the words express themselves fully once we say that we are there.”
Today a foreign minister of the same three-country pact says the only stage remaining is to deploy personnel.
Those are not the same account. One implies presence; the other describes deployment as pending.
They are not necessarily contradictory — Pakistan has long kept troops in Saudi Arabia for training and logistics, so “we are there” may describe an existing arrangement rather than anything under the pact, while Fidan is describing the pact’s own structures. But the two statements were made 48 hours apart by partners in the same agreement, and the difference between an existing presence and a pact deployment is the entire question readers have been asking.
Neither government has clarified which it means.
What institutionalisation would involve
A headquarters, deployed personnel, and — Fidan suggests — later expansion to other regional states.
This newspaper reported on 10 September that a secretariat is to be established in Saudi Arabia, headed initially by a Pakistani secretary general for three years, and that the Foreign Office then described expansion as “not on the cards” at that stage.
What is not established
No location, size, budget or timeline has been given for the headquarters, and no country has been named as a prospective member. Neither Pakistan nor Saudi Arabia has commented on Fidan’s characterisation.
[Image: Anadolu Agency via The Express Tribune]
