Turkiye is at an advanced stage of discussions to join the strategic defence pact signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with talks likely to conclude with a deal, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia treats an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both.
In its report, Bloomberg stated that Turkiye’s potential joining would pave the way for a new security alignment that “could shift the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond”.
Turkiye is considering joining the pact amid questions over the reliability of the US, and its increasingly overlapping interests with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, it added.
Pakistan and Turkiye have longstanding military relations, with both countries cooperating on a number of defence projects.
Ankara is supplying Pakistan’s Navy with corvette warships and has upgraded numerous F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force.
Turkiye, which currently shares drone technology with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is also looking to involve both countries in its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet programme.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the landmark SMDA on September 17, 2025, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
PM Shehbaz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inked the pact in Riyadh, further strengthening the decades-old security partnership.
Weeks after the signing of the pact, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that more nations wanted to sign a similar agreement with Islamabad.
“Our defence pact with Saudi Arabia is significant. More countries now want to sign a similar agreement with us,” he said while speaking during a National Assembly session on October 3, 2025.
Stressing the significance of the pact, DPM Dar said that several Arab and Muslim nations expressed their wish to sign such an agreement with Pakistan.
The pact could expand to include other countries, potentially transforming it into a new North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) or Eastern Nato, he added.
Talks on expanding the SMDA follow Pakistan’s decisive military victory over India in a brief war last year.
Pakistan downed multiple Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones after India launched unprovoked and unlawful missile strikes inside Pakistan in May last year.
The war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
Pakistan was also involved in border clashes with Afghanistan in October last year, after the Afghan Taliban and militants launched unprovoked attacks on its border posts.
The resulting clashes led to the killing of over 200 Taliban and affiliated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred defending the motherland.
The conflict also saw Pakistan conducting “precision strikes” deep inside Afghanistan, targeting terrorists in Kandahar province and Kabul.
Shehbaz Sharif orders enhanced Ramadan relief package with digital disbursement
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed relevant institutions to formulate a more effective and beneficial relief package and recommendations for the upcoming month of Ramadan.
A review meeting was held under the Prime Minister’s chairmanship to assess the federal government’s proposed Ramadan package and the third-party validation of last year’s Ramadan relief initiative. During the meeting, all concerned institutions and ministries appreciated the transparency of the previous year’s package, as confirmed by an independent audit firm.
The Prime Minister stated that since last year, the federal government has introduced a transparent system to provide essential food items to low-income citizens at subsidized rates through the Ramadan package. He added that a decades-old system of financial irregularities, mismanagement, and exploitation of the poor through Utility Stores has now been transformed into a transparent mechanism.
He instructed all relevant bodies to prepare an even more effective and beneficial package for the upcoming Ramadan. He noted that due to corruption at Utility Stores, deserving individuals were previously deprived of their rights, emphasizing that financial support and social welfare of the poor and lower-middle-class citizens remain top government priorities.
The Prime Minister further directed that financial assistance under the Ramadan package should be distributed exclusively through digital wallets to preserve the dignity of beneficiaries. He said this step would also serve as a milestone toward achieving a cashless economy.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation Syed Imran Ahmed Shah, Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, the Chairman NADRA, Chairman PTA, and other senior officials.
