Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey sign NATO-style defense pact

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a mutual defense pact modeled on NATO's framework in Mecca on Friday.

The agreement unites three major global military powers, including Pakistan, which is the world's only nuclear-armed Muslim state. This comes as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran.

The three nations did not publicly release the pact's full text, but Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a statement mirroring language from Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. "The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all," The statement read. It added that the pact "provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states."

Iran has launched repeated missile strikes against Saudi Arabia and Turkey since February, when the United States and Israel intensified military operations against Iran. The Iranian government has also conducted border skirmishes with Pakistan in recent years.

Pakistan faces concurrent conflict with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and has a long record of wars and border disputes with India.

The practical mechanics of the defense pact remain unclear, though the agreement reflects strengthening relations among the three Sunni Muslim-majority states. All three maintain alignment with the United States - Turkey as a NATO member, while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia hold designations as major non-NATO allies.