ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has indicated that Turkiye and Qatar could join its mutual defense cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia as the ongoing US-Iran war reshapes security alignments across the Middle East and South Asia, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The report cited Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif as saying the arrangement was currently being finalized and could eventually expand into a broader regional security framework.
The development comes amid heightened regional tensions triggered by the US-Iran conflict, which has drawn in Gulf states and raised concerns over energy security, shipping routes and broader regional stability.
Pakistan has emerged as a key diplomatic intermediary during the crisis, facilitating contacts between Washington and Tehran while publicly calling for dialogue and de-escalation.
“If Qatar and Turkiye also join this existing agreement, it will be a welcome development,” Asif said during a local television interview on Monday night, according to Bloomberg.
The minister said the initiative aimed to build a wider platform of cooperation among “like-minded” countries to strengthen “regional stability and collective security.”
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a strategic defense agreement in September 2025 under which “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
The two countries have intensified security coordination since Iran’s retaliatory attacks against regional targets escalated the conflict.
Last month, a Pakistani military contingent arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Saudi Arabia to support joint military cooperation and regional security efforts.
An expanded arrangement involving Turkiye and Qatar would bring together several influential Muslim-majority states with growing regional security roles, including Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, whose ties have historically fluctuated but have improved in recent years.
