Dar arrives in Istanbul ahead of first meeting under Makkah defence pact

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Istanbul on Sunday to attend the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The trilateral defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye aims to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression.

Dar was welcomed by Turkish officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration Brig. General Senol Varol and Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Yousaf Junaid, and paid respects at the shrine of Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari (RA). Dar had previously confirmed his participation in a Regional-4 meeting in Istanbul, which includes the three countries part of the defence pact and Egypt.

The R-4 group has been focused on regional security since its emergence in March, and the last meeting was held in Amman in August.

Brief written by urgent.news from Dawn's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.