Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has reaffirmed that the Makkah Defense Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye has no “regional aspirations” and is solely aimed at collective deterrence.
In an interview with Al Arabiya English, he said the accord formalized Pakistan’s decades-old relationship with Saudi Arabia Turkiye in the domains of collective deterrence and defense. “There’s nothing aggressive,” he continued. “There are no regional aspirations. It is collective deterrence,” he said, adding the agreement was “complementary” to preexisting agreements and did not compete with any of the states’ other relationships.
On whether the agreement carried any mutual defense obligation, Chaudhry said this was made clear in the text made public by the leadership of the three countries. He further said the operationalization of such defensive commitments were never made public.
“You have multiple other agreements which are defensive in nature, which are committal in nature. But no country comes out and starts sharing its operational details,” he said, noting the “how” of the implementation would be decided by all three signatories.
To a question on whether the agreement complemented or competed with Pakistan’s ties with China, the military spokesman insisted the Chinese understood this was formalization of existing relationships. “Nobody has any problem with that. Everyone understands that this is defensive. Everyone understand it is for maintaining stability and peace in the region. And all the three countries that are part of it, they have a wonderful relationship with China,” he added.
Lt. Gen. Chaudhry also rebutted against assertions the agreement was a Muslim alliance. “It is not a club that is being made for only Muslim countries,” he said, adding decisions on its expansion would be take up by the leadership of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. “This agreement, this alliance can always encompass new, willing partners who also believe in regional peace, stability and security, who have a shared vision of non-aggression, non-interference and collective deterrence,” he said.
U.S.-Iran war
On whether the agreement complicated Pakistan’s attempts to mediate between the United States and Iran, the DG ISPR replied in the negative. To a question on why Pakistan had opted to play the role of mediator in the ongoing conflict, he said it was “for regional peace.” Islamabad, he maintained, has a unique position because of its policy of alignment and engagement with countries across the world.
He emphasized that a prerequisites of good mediation was remaining objective and neutral, adding Pakistan cannot comment on things happening or expected to happen. He reiterated the need for a “negotiated, peaceful outcome,” adding anyone who could achieve this must continue such efforts.
Lt. Gen. Chaudhry said Pakistan was “very confident” of its self-reliance for security, but acknowledged concerns of any conflict spiraling horizontally or vertically. “Pakistan is interested in regional peace and stability, because peace and stability is essential for development, for human development, for prosperity and for the citizens of Pakistan and the region,” he said, adding Islamabad would “always be there” for any mediation for peace.
Pak-India ties
On what lessons the Pakistani military had learned from last year’s conflict with India, the military spokesman said the lessons Pakistan taught during the war were more important. Emphasizing that a military conflict between two nuclear countries, especially neighbors, was “out of question,” he said Islamabad had shown Delhi it made a “strategic folly” last year. It is for India to answer whether it has learned that lesson, he added.
“Our job in Pakistan is to keep on reminding them of that lesson,” he said, adding the other side had a “hubristic mindset” and the Indian military was “deeply politicized.” He regretted that India has a propensity to externalize internal problems, giving the example of minorities facing oppression. By contrast, he said, the Kashmir issue was an “external” issue that India wanted to “internalize through repression.”
Pakistan’s persistent message to India, he said, was “peace on equal terms.” He stressed that while Pakistan believed in regional peace, if India had any “misconceptions about regional hegemony through military aggression, results of that would be beyond their imagination.”
He said last year’s conflict had proven Pakistan had the capability and resolve to dominate and control any escalation, warning the country would not hesitate to do so again.
To a question on whether there were any realistic prospects of restoring sustained military-to-military communication with India, Lt. Gen Chaudhry said: “Yes, of course.” He noted communication between the directors general of military operations had remained effective during the May conflict and beyond.
“Communication is always good. We must communicate, we must engage, but that engagement has to be done on equal terms while respecting each other’s integrity and sovereignty,” he said, adding the matter of resuming dialogue was up to the political leadership to decide.
“Dialogue cannot be, or engagement cannot be to provide a cover for the ongoing state-sponsored Indian terrorism in Pakistan, for the ongoing aggression,” he said.
Pak-Afghan
On Afghanistan, the DG ISPR was asked what the Pakistani military’s preferred end state was regarding the Afghan Taliban. “I think the military’s end state is actually part of Pakistan’s end state that the political leadership sets. So, there is no separate military end state,” he responded. “So, there are Pakistan’s objectives and desire, which are primarily the domain of the Pakistan’s political leadership and an expression of the will of the people of Pakistan. And what that is that we want … no interference, no terrorism from Afghanistan in Pakistan. So that’s the foundation,” he said.
He warned the right of self-defense was enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter if diplomacy failed. The Pakistani state, he said, had an obligation to defend the lives, honor and property of its citizens, stressing “all that is necessary [to achieve this] will be done and is being done.”
The military spokesman claimed Pakistan’s counter-terrorism measures were the “only successful counter-terrorism campaign in the world.” He noted security forces had conducted 42,000 intelligence-based operations thus far this year killing 2,100 terrorists.
Lt. Gen. Chaudhry also maintained there was no insurgency in Balochistan. “There’s just terrorism,” he said, adding the military had clarity on that, tactically and strategically. The only way to deal with terrorism, he said, was to kill terrorists and “embrace the people of Balochistan.”