New Delhi, Aug 7 (NVI) A year after the ‘Sindoor Operation’ launched by India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey today signed a trilateral defence agreement, which states that an armed attack on any of the three countries would be considered an attack on all of them.
Indian said it is “closely following” the development which holds strategic significance for the region.
“We are closely following this development and will keep you updated,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a media briefing here when asked to comment on the issue.
The agreement was signed in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting between the three leaders, the agreement seeks to bolster collective deterrence against external aggression.
It stipulates that an armed attack on any of the three countries would be considered an attack on all of them.
This assumes significance considering that Pakistan keeps provoking India, like it did last year by engineering a massacre by terrorists of 25 tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22.
To avenge the act, India carried out attacks at major terrorist camps at various places in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) on May 7.
Pakistan did not like it and tried to carry out military strikes at defence and civilian locations in India, triggering intense 5-day conflict.
At that time, Turkey helped Pakistan by clandestinely providing drones, which were used to target India.
The trilateral agreement, signed today, also envisages deeper defence cooperation among Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia across multiple domains.
Turkish media reports said the arrangement could pave the way for joint military exercises, training programmes, intelligence sharing and technology transfers among the three countries.
The pact comes after nearly a year of negotiations.
Earlier this year, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had backed the creation of a broader regional security framework aimed at enhancing cooperation and promoting stability. (NVI)
