TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia sealed a historic defense pact on Friday, signing an agreement "intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression."
"The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement," read a joint statement, reflects "a shared commitment to further strengthening collective security."
A Turkish official cited by Reuters said the agreement was purely defensive in nature and open to any regional neighbors who might want to sign on.
The official said the pact does not replace or negate previous bilateral or multilateral agreements between signatories, nor is it directed at any one actor or threat.
The agreement was signed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Paksitan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
All three parties to the deal are Sunni-majority Muslim countries, and Pakistan is a nuclear power.
Houthi militia attack wounds 11 in Saudi Arabia
The deal between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan came following an attack by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis late on Thursday wounded 11 civilians in southern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border, a military official said.
The attack injured seven Saudis, two Egyptians, a Yemeni and a Pakistani, according to General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen's government against the Shiite Houthi rebels.
He accused the rebels of "using indiscriminate shelling against civilian objects."
Neither the militia nor Iran immediately responded to the coalition's statement.
Tehran has targeted Saudi Arabia since the US-Iran war started this February, as its regional archrival hosts US military facilities. Less then three weeks ago, the Houthi militants in Yemen declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, signaling that Riyadh's long-running conflict with the Houthis in Yemen is becoming increasingly intertwined with the wider Middle East war.
Read: Saudi Arabia Calls for Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition
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