Pakistan, Aug. 9 -- Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye remains open to other regional countries. Dar stressed that potential members must be willing to follow the pact's core principles and commitments. He also described the agreement as purely defensive and said it was not directed against any particular country. His remarks came as discussions continued about expanding the three-nation security framework.

The statement followed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks that Egypt could potentially join the agreement after resolving certain technical issues. Fidan said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted the alliance t...