India, Aug. 31 -- Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia will seek to take their new defence agreement beyond a political declaration today in Istanbul. This is the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The meeting will bring together the foreign ministers, defence ministers, and top military officials of the three countries. Turkiye's Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed the meeting. Pakistan will be represented by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.

The meeting is important because the agreement signed in Mecca on August 7 is now, for the first time, taking institutio...