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🇵🇰 Pakistan /Conflict & Security

Makkah Pact should provide ‘deterrence for peace’, Pakistani officials say

From Dawn · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Pakistani officials and former diplomats described the Makkah Pact as a strategic agreement linking Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
  • Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan must strengthen its economy and put domestic affairs in order to preserve recent defence and diplomatic gains.
  • Other speakers said the pact could promote peace through deterrence and protect the sovereignty of the three countries amid shifting global power.

Pakistan’s recent defence and diplomatic gains will not last without economic strength, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told a seminar on the Makkah Pact at the University of Lahore.

Speaking at the event, titled “Makkah Pact and New Geometry of Power”, Iqbal called for an “economic reset”. He said Pakistan had made historic and remarkable advances in defence and diplomacy, but now carried an equal responsibility to put its internal affairs in order.

“Without economic strength, defence and diplomatic successes begin to lose their effectiveness over time,” Iqbal said. He argued that countries and institutions must adapt as the world changes, warning that even multibillion-dollar companies can decline if they fail to reinvent themselves. “In a changing world, resetting and adapting to new realities is essential for survival,” he said.

Without economic strength, defence and diplomatic successes begin to lose their effectiveness over time.

· Ahsan IqbalPakistan’s planning minister warned that economic weakness could undermine the country’s defence and diplomatic gains.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said he hoped the pact would promote regional peace through deterrence. In his view, the agreement sends a message of strength and unity among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

Former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri described the pact as a deterrence arrangement designed to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of all three states. Former national security adviser Nasir Janjua said global power was shifting, citing the rising influence of Russia, China and the Muslim world alongside what he called the “relative decline of the United States”. Former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani linked the pact to Pakistan’s diplomatic achievements and the changing strategic environment in the Middle East.

University of Lahore Chairman Awais Raoof called the pact a welcome development for the region, saying the erosion of the global order and human rights had created a need for new platforms for debate and cooperation.

In a changing world, resetting and adapting to new realities is essential for survival.

· Ahsan IqbalIqbal used the seminar to call for an economic reset and greater adaptation.
About this summary

Originally published by Dawn in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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