ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed the ratification process for the Makkah joint defence agreement, and the pact contains no secret clauses, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said.
In a statement, Khan said Pakistan endorsed the text of the Makkah joint defence agreement presented to the Turkish parliament for ratification.
“There are no secret clauses in the agreement,” he said, adding that Pakistan recognized the version of the pact that had been made public.
Khan said each country had its own procedure for ratifying the agreement.
He added that the provisions of the Makkah mutual defence pact were intended to promote collective defense and were not directed against any third country.
Commenting on India, the Foreign Office spokesperson said false-flag operations had been a pattern in the country's conduct. He said Pakistan was prepared to respond to any such operation by India.
Earlier, Turkey submitted the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement to parliament for ratification, moving NATO's second-largest army closer to a formal mutual defence pledge with Saudi Arabia as the kingdom continues to face Houthi attacks, officials said.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The provision, similar to NATO's Article 5, refers to Article 51 of the UN Charter, covering the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attacks.
All three members agreed to use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognized borders, according to the text seen by Reuters.
The agreement will enter into force upon the deposit of ratification documents with the secretariat in Riyadh and will remain valid indefinitely. Parties may not withdraw for the first 10 years.
