TURKIYE will not join a mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, a source close to the Saudi military said, after a Turkish official said earlier this month that they had entered talks aimed at entering the alliance.
Speculation has been rife that the three countries were intent on forming a powerful alliance amid soaring tensions in the region, following Israeli air strikes in Doha over the summer targeting Hamas officials that preceded Iran’s bombing of a US air base in Qatar.
“Turkiye won’t join the defence pact with Pakistan,” the source said, dismissing reports of negotiations. “It’s a bilateral pact with Pakistan and will remain a bilateral pact.”
A Gulf official also confirmed the information.
“This is a bilateral defensive relationship with Pakistan. We have common agreements with Turkiye but the one with Pakistan will stay bilateral,” the official said.
The defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, announced last year raised many questions, particularly about its possible nuclear component, given that Islamabad possesses nuclear weapons.
Pakistan and India, also a nuclear power, have long accused each other of backing militant forces to destabilise one another. — AFP
