CDF Munir meets Turkish defence minister ahead of first Makkah defence pact meeting

CDF Munir meets Turkish defence minister ahead of first Makkah defence pact session.

Key points

• News Desk Published August 31, 2026 Updated August 31, 2026 02: 41pm.
• According to the Foreign Office (FO), Pakistan will be represented at the session by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Asif, and CDF Munir.
• In a post on the social media platform X, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence shared a video of CDF Munir session Guler.
• Separately, the Turkish minister additionally held a gathering with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
• According to an AFP report, the participants plan to address boosting defence capabilities, the interoperability of their armed forces, and their cooperation in the defence industry.

News Desk Published August 31, 2026 Updated August 31, 2026 02: 41pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday met the Turkish National Defence Minister Yaşar Guler ahead of the first session under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul.

Separately, the Turkish minister additionally held a gathering with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. According to Radio Pakistan, Asif and the Turkish leadership agreed to enhance joint defence cooperation in the region.

In practice, the meetings come ahead of the inaugural session of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia. It is scheduled to be held today.

"Pakistan's participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan's historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability, " the FO remarked on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the maiden ministerial session of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan after the recent signing of Makkah pact is being seen as the first step towards establishing a framework for trilateral strategic and defence cooperation.

As well as establish a roadmap for steps to be taken in the coming period, meanwhile, TRT documented that the gathering is projected to outline the framework for a secretariat and other relevant mechanisms.

For context, the joint defence pact signed on Aug 7 empowers the member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

For now, CDF Munir meets Turkish defence minister ahead of first Makkah defence pact remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.