Mecca pact’s real test lies in its application

It is unlikely that Saudi Arabia or Turkiye will involve themselves in the affairs of India and Pakistan.

Manoj Joshi

Updated At : 07:03 AM Aug 11, 2026 IST

Trilateral : (From left) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after signing the pact. AP/PTI

Karl Marx once observed that "History repeats itself first as a tragedy, second as a farce". This comes to mind as Pakistan and Turkiye have inked a new Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia. There is an echo here of the 1955 Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) alliance against the Soviet Union that also linked Pakistan and Turkiye with several West Asian countries.

THE TRIBUNE, India’s oldest, daily English-language newspaper, was first published on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan), and save for 40 days in the immediate aftermath of Partition, has come out every day over the last 145 years. THE TRIBUNE was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist of the time. The newspaper is run by a five-member Trust, which is chaired by Shri N N Vohra, former Governor of J&K State (2008-2018); as well as Justice S S Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Shri Gurbachan Jagat, former Governor of Manipur; Lt Gen. Shamsher Singh Mehta, former Western Army Commander; Shri Paramjit Singh Patwalia, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court.

THE TRIBUNE is free, objective, and independent. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language, are the hallmarks of the paper.

The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia

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Mecca pact’s real test lies in its application

It is unlikely that Saudi Arabia or Turkiye will involve themselves in the affairs of India and Pakistan.

Manoj Joshi

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