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00:00:02TV speaks to the
00:00:03of world.
00:00:10of
00:00:26of of Joining you with the latest. the
00:00:30hour, I'm Rafiq Iqbal. Let's see the top
00:00:35of of stories.
00:00:47Nationwide celebrations mark a historic Makka joint defense agreement
00:00:51between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkia. The celebration will
00:00:55continue until Monday with a public and private buildings
00:00:59of eliminated in green and red
00:01:00lights.
00:01:07Islamabad is beautifully eliminated as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
00:01:11Turkey mark
00:01:12of the signing
00:01:14of of the Makka joint defense agreement. The special decorations across the federal capital reflect the strong bonds of
00:01:18brotherhood, mutual trust, defense cooperation and shared
00:01:21resolve amongst the
00:01:22of three
00:01:22countries.
00:01:30Turkish singer Mustapha Ak releases a commemorative
00:01:32of song
00:01:33of celebrating the historic joint defense agreement signed by Turkia, Saudi Arabia
00:01:37and
00:01:37of Pakistan. Song highlights unity and strategic partnership amongst the
00:01:41three nations
00:01:42of portraying the agreement as a symbol of collective strength and cooperation
00:01:46linking the middle east and
00:01:51of Asia. Indian media Outlet India today
00:01:54of acknowledges Pakistan's strategic interest in the Maka joint defense park with Saudi Arabia
00:01:58and Turkey describing The agreement is an important development for
00:02:02Pakistan.
00:02:09Leading global media outlet South Asian voices say Pakistan played a key
00:02:13mediating role in easing tensions between the US and Iran,
00:02:17helping bring senior officials from both the countries to direct talks in
00:02:20Islamabad.
00:02:31Iranian president says Tehran is ready for dialogue with the
00:02:35US and Europe, but will not accept demands that compromise around
00:02:38sovereignty or
00:02:40of defensive
00:02:40capabilities.
00:02:51Security forces kill seven terrorists belonging to Indian sponsored fitnal
00:02:55Quad during an IBO in Hangu district, while
00:02:58of Captain Hamzak from Peidal. ultimate sacrifice and embraced martterdom during
00:03:02fire
00:03:05of exchange
00:03:24of
00:03:36Now for the news in
00:03:37of detail, of some very important developments on the
00:03:39a diplomatic front regarding that celebrations across
00:03:43Pakistan, regarding the historic success
00:03:45of the Mecca joint defense agreement
00:03:47of between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
00:03:50of Celebrations being held across the country from today until Monday with public and private buildings
00:03:54eliminated in green and red lights. Colors
00:03:57of the flags
00:03:57of the three countries are also being prominently. played on buildings as
00:04:01of Pakistan of marks the
00:04:05a of landmark defense agreement.
00:04:12The federal capital has been beautifully decorated on the Eve of Makka joint defense
00:04:16agreement between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Special decoration
00:04:20of federal capital is beautiful manifestation of brotherhood, mutual trust,
00:04:24defense cooperation and common determination between the three.
00:04:28Let's move over to our correspondent.
00:04:39of
00:04:53of of
00:04:59of one is the security of all. The
00:05:02city has been decorated with national flags of
00:05:06of Pakistan, Turkey
00:05:07and Saudi
00:05:07of Arabia. Special LED screens have been installed all
00:05:11across the capital. highlighting the historic brotherly
00:05:15relations, mutual cooperation and shared defense
00:05:18commitment between the three brotherly Islamic
00:05:21nations. Constitution Avenue is adoned with lights of
00:05:25green and red color, adding even more beauti to
00:05:28Islamabad. Special LED screens have been installed at key
00:05:32locations. The messages displayed on the LED reflects the
00:05:36significance the Macca joint defense agreement
00:05:40and the strengthening ties between. is
00:05:46This beautiful special decoration expression of brotherhood, mutual
00:05:50trust, defense corporation and shared
00:05:53resolve. Pakistan TV,
00:05:57Islamabad. The Turkish singer
00:06:00Mustapha Aqif released a commemorative song celebrating the historic Makka joint
00:06:04defense pack signed by Turkey Arabian and
00:06:07Pakistan.
00:06:41the turkish. song released by the singer, it
00:06:44commemorates the celebration the defense
00:06:47agreement and also highlights the unity and strategic partnership amongst the
00:06:50three nations portraying the agreement as a symbol of collective strength and
00:06:54cooperation linking the middle east and Asia. lyrics describe the parked as
00:06:58a shield of solidarity and a commitment to justice
00:07:01reflecting the significance the trilateral
00:07:04partnership.
00:07:57media Outlet India today Saudi acknowledged Arabia Pakistan and
00:08:00strategic Turkey describing the agreement is an important development for
00:08:03Pakistan. Reports at defense integration, joint military
00:08:06exercises and technology transfers could enhance Pakistan's defense
00:08:10capabilities, while intelligent. sharing and joint defense production could
00:08:14further strengthen its preparedness, adding that the pack could facilitate
00:08:18Pakistan's access to Turkey as advanced drin technology and electronic
00:08:22Warfare capabilities. According to the report, Saudi Arabia's
00:08:26financial support and Turkia's defense technology are key strategic
00:08:30benefits for Pakistan from the trilateral
00:08:32cooperation.
00:08:38Pakistan played a key mediating role in easing tensions between US and Iran.
00:08:42and peace talks were held in Islamabad, leading global media
00:08:46leaders, south Asian voices noted, pakistan played a key role in bringing the
00:08:50US and iron to negotiating table, and senior officials from b
00:08:54countries held direct talks in Islamabad. It also highlighted
00:08:57Pakistan established contact between the US and Iran a time when both the
00:09:01sides had reached a stage of severe tensions and mutual losses,
00:09:05saying that Pakistan's geographic position and ties with both the US and
00:09:09Iran gave it a unique position for effective mediation. Rather than
00:09:13pressuring the parties, Pakistan leveraged access, trust and timely
00:09:16diplomacy. Moreover, it said Pakistan successfully
00:09:20mediated between the US and Iran, bringing a global power and
00:09:24major regional power to the negotiating table, and Pakistan played a
00:09:28diplomatic role that even major powers such as China, France,
00:09:31Germany, India and the UK could not
00:09:34play.
00:09:40Well, that's the latest we
00:09:41had the moment. For more news and updates, you can always go to our website and our social media
00:09:45handles. It's a goodbye from my side and entire news team. Take
00:09:48care.
00:10:26Hello and welcome to unfold, I am in today's show we are going
00:10:30to have two different segments, the first will primarily focus on the
00:10:33trilateralization the defense cooperation between Pakistan,
00:10:37Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Turkey as the three have
00:10:40signed the joint defense agreement,
00:10:44what is the significance of this particular agreement and also what are going to
00:10:47be the implications as far as the wider regional security is concerned.
00:10:51In the second segment we are going to talk about Pakistan.
00:10:55authorities operation against the resurgence of
00:10:58terrorism, especially in the wake the kabul takeover by the Afghan Taliban
00:11:02back in 2021, we have seen Pakistan
00:11:05authorities going through the intelligence based
00:11:09operations uprooting the networks,
00:11:12eliminating targets both within the
00:11:16country as well as going kinatic with there are
00:11:19safe heavens in Afghanistan as well, what is the
00:11:23strategy the Pakistani? authority authorities at this point in time
00:11:27will be delving deeper into that also. Let's
00:11:31begin with the first segment of today's show. As I have already
00:11:35mentioned, the trilateralization the defense cooperation when it
00:11:38comes to Pakistan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
00:11:42We saw the three countries signed an
00:11:45agreement, the joint defense
00:11:48agreement. Um, now it
00:11:50basically has the very important provision which
00:11:54talks. of any armed attack against any these three
00:11:58countries will be considered attack against all
00:12:02three, what does that actually mean, what does that actually
00:12:05signif and what are going to be the manifestations and the
00:12:09implications of this particular provision also.
00:12:13now going a little back in time, back in
00:12:162025 we saw there was a signing
00:12:19the mutual defense agreement
00:12:22between kingdom of Saudi Arabia. and Pakistan
00:12:26back in September 2025, is it the extension or
00:12:30expansion from that particular agreement between kingdom of Saudi
00:12:34Arabia and Pakistan, now we have seen the inclusion
00:12:38of turkey. now given this situation that has
00:12:42developed and unfolded over the last five months in the middle east
00:12:46with the kind of threat that we have seen to the maritime roots, also
00:12:50attacks on the energy infrastructure in the gulf, also
00:12:54the kind of high hand as by certain elements over there,
00:12:57most primarily when we talk about the war which is going on between
00:13:01the US and Iran, also the Israeli factor in
00:13:05that, amid all that, the timing of this agreement
00:13:09is very crucial, what does that particularly signif as
00:13:12well, what sort of a broader message is is sending
00:13:16within the region and also globally will be trying to take the
00:13:20perspective from Saudi Arabia, from Pakistan as well
00:13:23as from Turkey. Also there are certain very
00:13:27important questions which are related to this particular signing the
00:13:30agreement, when we talk about the external guarantees
00:13:34of security within the Middle Eastern region, is it the
00:13:38diversification happening because it all dependent
00:13:41on the United States of America given the conflict which is ongoing between Iran
00:13:45and the US, are the regional countries taking the
00:13:48responsibility their security now more
00:13:52and also how do you we will be
00:13:56trying to understand how certain
00:14:00elements, for example when you talk about the Israeli factor when we talk about
00:14:03Iran and also the United States of America,
00:14:07how their possible reaction could be, we haven't seen any sort of an official
00:14:11comment from the US, as of yet, neither we have seen
00:14:15any sort of an official comment from the Israeli side, there has been a little bit of
00:14:19hint when we talk about the Iranian side which on the face of
00:14:23it has actually well. this particular signing the
00:14:27agreement framing it with the Muslim Unity also
00:14:31given the fact how the situation is developing in the middle east
00:14:34visavy US and Iran, there is another
00:14:38very pertinent question, whether this
00:14:42particular collective deterrence is going evolve
00:14:46into dialogue and more engagement, creating wider
00:14:50regional security and stability. These are going to be the key
00:14:53questions in today's. show for that we are honored to being joined by Dr.
00:14:57Jamil Khan is a ambassador. Dr. Jamil Khan, thank you very much for being with
00:15:01us on the show tonight, really appreciate that.
00:15:04Also we are honored to being joined by Miss
00:15:08Leann Jarens, she is a presenter at al arabia
00:15:11English. Lee, thank you very much
00:15:13for your time also for being with us on the show tonight, really appreciate that.
00:15:17I'll begin the discussion with you, Lee, now
00:15:19basically first of all give us an
00:15:23understanding the Saudi perspective. how this particular agreement
00:15:27is being seen and received within Saudi Arabia,
00:15:31what does Saudi Arabia at the end the day get it? we know for fact,
00:15:35there was already a mutual defense. agreement between Pakistan
00:15:39and Saudi Arabia that was signed back in 2025,
00:15:42so having already that agreement, why there was a
00:15:46need, the saudis thought that they would try lateralize
00:15:50it,
00:15:50and what does the inclusion of turkey in this particular
00:15:54agreement mean for
00:15:55saudis? thank you so much
00:15:59for having me on, yes, of course we see this historic agreement which was
00:16:03signed yesterday between, as you said Saudi Arabia, Pakistan.
00:16:08and and Turkey and one thing that they are saying is this
00:16:11agreement is not an agreement targeted at any
00:16:15other one country, so they're making that very clear.
00:16:19this agreement right now, we don't have so many details about it, we know it
00:16:23was signed in Mecca, we obviously know almost a year ago
00:16:27um Saudi Arabia did sign another agreement with Pakistan,
00:16:31but bringing Turkey in is also quite a significant moment
00:16:35for this trilateral deal. because it it signals
00:16:39the timing of things, it's a significant commitment between the
00:16:43three big muslim power houses that we do see in the middle
00:16:47east, and we must remember something, Turke is of
00:16:50course also part the Middle East, so it's split between Europe
00:16:54and the Middle East, so bringing Turkey and brings in also
00:16:57a lot of military commitment, and
00:17:01Turkey have been building drones, submarines,
00:17:04ships, they have the second largest. in the
00:17:08NATO alliance and also Turkey and
00:17:11Pakistan border Iran, so is sending a
00:17:15signal clearly to Iran that now
00:17:18attack on one the three countries in this agreement is
00:17:22attack on all countries, and we must remember it's
00:17:25significant because as you mentioned it too, things in the region have
00:17:29shifted over the last year and the last few months due
00:17:33to the Iran war, we obviously had the...
00:17:37west who was the soul guaranteeur of security in the middle east since
00:17:41the first gold war, the first golf war,
00:17:44apologies, and now we do see that there are
00:17:48limitations to that security, and that has been highlighted over
00:17:52the last few months, so the timing of this is also
00:17:55imperative. right, so early, if we try to
00:17:58take an analysis regarding us to what the Iranian reaction, there has been
00:18:02a hint by the foreign minister, Mr. Abbas
00:18:05Aragi. now, he's they've tried to frame
00:18:09it from the lens of Muslim
00:18:12unity, how how do you analyze
00:18:16this particular reaction on the part the Iranians, because you have already
00:18:20mentioned, it's a signal collectively from
00:18:23Turkia, king of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan towards Iran as per
00:18:27your understanding, so given that view of yours, how do
00:18:31you analyze this reaction with the Iranian
00:18:32side? it was an agreement signed
00:18:36in Mecca, so there has been a lot of analysis and
00:18:40lot of pointing towards the fact that this is a big
00:18:44agreement that is focused on regional security,
00:18:48so it doesn't add the US into the agreement, so
00:18:51there has been a focus on the fact where it was signed and taking the religion
00:18:55into consideration, but I think moving away from
00:18:59that, this does send a signal to Iran and its
00:19:02proxies that it really needs to look its policies and its
00:19:06aggression towards it. neighbors, which we have seen since
00:19:10February, since the US and Israeli first attacked
00:19:13Iran, the aggression towards the golf neighbors is
00:19:17something that has become absolutely apparent, so I
00:19:21do think this cl sends a clear strong message more than anything
00:19:25to Iran, yes they can try and frame it as part the
00:19:28Muslim um access, but I i don't think that's
00:19:32particularly exactly what this agreement is looking to do,
00:19:36it's looking to warn a... that if it continues its
00:19:39aggression towards neighbors, it now has
00:19:43different security blanket it has to take
00:19:47into consideration because Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey
00:19:50are now a joint alliance, which is extremely important to
00:19:54remember, and many analysts here in Saudi Arabia have told me this pact is
00:19:58really important because once again it highlights that we're
00:20:02regionalizing security in light of this war
00:20:06with Iran, which is... also extremely important because remember, if
00:20:10we've got these three countries who have joined this trilateral
00:20:13agreement, it covers huge and vast geographical space
00:20:17from east asia to the corners of Europe, and those really
00:20:21strategic choke holds, babamenzem straight and of course the straight
00:20:25of Homus, and we have seen Iran constantly try to
00:20:29choke those straight holds in order to put economic
00:20:32pressure on the Gulf countries to pressure the US
00:20:36into finding a... dramatic offramp:
00:20:40so that that brings us to very interesting
00:20:43scenario, going little back in time, we
00:20:47saw there was a mediation carried out by china when it came to
00:20:51reproachma or reestablishment the diplomatic relations
00:20:54between kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran. One thing that
00:20:58you
00:20:58have just pointed out in your view regarding as to the kind of
00:21:02acts in retaliation what the Iranians refer to
00:21:06they have carried out during this conflict that is unfolding
00:21:09against the US targeting certain
00:21:12infrastructure and also those vessels
00:21:16the gulf nations most particularly when we talk about kingdom of Saudi.
00:21:20Arabia, but during this entire conflict we have seen
00:21:24that segaciousness on the part the Saudis,
00:21:27they they they try, they've tried their utmost not to be
00:21:31dragged into this particular conflict which has been going on from almost more than
00:21:35four five months between Iran and the US, having
00:21:39said that, we do
00:21:42understand
00:21:44there, there must be, there might be some sort of friction despite
00:21:48that reproochma between Iran. and Saudi Arabia having
00:21:51said that, what brings Turkey into it? we we
00:21:55haven't seen any sort of a friction as far as the bilateral
00:21:58relationship between Turkey and Iran is concerned, and also when
00:22:02we talk about Pakistan scenario, Pakistan has played a pivot role as a
00:22:06mediator having equally good relations with Iran as well as the
00:22:10US during this particular conflict, so how do you
00:22:14analyze this entire, I mean situation as it
00:22:17is, when you refer to again, uh that perhaps it
00:22:21is a signal to Iran. It's very difficult
00:22:25right now because we don't have the exact details the agreements,
00:22:28so analysis is just what we are thinking at the
00:22:32moment, but right now I think what's happening is we
00:22:36see more and more that Iran is dealing
00:22:38diplomatically with the Gulf countries with
00:22:42Oman, we see they trying to reach that agreement with the straight
00:22:46of Homus. Of course we've also seen Qatar involve.
00:22:50in the negotiations too, and Pakistan has been a big player in
00:22:54those negotiations. We know Saudi and Pakistan have close
00:22:58ties, so my feeling is behind the scenes everybody is
00:23:02working together to try to find an off ramp to
00:23:05what's happening in the Middle East, because a prolonged
00:23:09conflict will hurt the countries when it comes to
00:23:12energy, economies, and what they're looking at right now
00:23:16is as they try to reach this deal in the... countries at the
00:23:20moment we're living in this no peace, no war situation,
00:23:24it's almost a little bit of a stalemate, and I think what everyone's
00:23:28looking to do is try to find an off-ramp in order to
00:23:32find some kind of framework and able to be able
00:23:36to work with Iran to reach a peace deal at some
00:23:40point. We have been hearing that deal on the straight of homoz is
00:23:43nearing, that deal is still not through yet, but we do know
00:23:47that all the parties are working hard. an order for
00:23:51that deal to be reached and to be agreed to by the United
00:23:55States, because if Iran puts tools or service fees on the
00:23:59straight of homose, we know that's something the US doesn't
00:24:02necessarily want to um do deal with, and they
00:24:06don't want to pay the tools, so we're trying to find an agreement on
00:24:09that at the moment, but I think what's important to highlight is
00:24:13Saudi Diplomats have been speaking here and said the deal is not
00:24:17aimed to establish new military act. and it's
00:24:21a based a collective defensive and deterrence
00:24:25agreement, so I think adding Turkey in, which
00:24:28has relationship with Iran, Pakistan
00:24:32who's mediating, and Saudi Arabia, this could be a
00:24:35real positive path to peace when we look at the countries
00:24:39that are involved in this trilateral agreement, because there is
00:24:43channels open to Iran through
00:24:46Pakistan, the very important.
00:24:50points that you have made, please stay with us, I'll come back to you for number of
00:24:54other points also, I think we were joined, but I'll go back to the other
00:24:58participant later during our conversation, coming back to you once
00:25:01again, now okay, so
00:25:04regarding Turkey, now Turkey on one
00:25:08side happens to be the member of NATO, as for the
00:25:12article five of NATO, the North Atlantic treaty
00:25:15organization, the article five, now this
00:25:19provision, which was pretty much part of that
00:25:22mutual defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi
00:25:25Arabia, that seems synonymous to the very article
00:25:29five the NATO, right? so that collective defense.
00:25:33now in this case, if any sort of
00:25:36action that happens against any
00:25:40these three countries, what could be the likely manifestations
00:25:44of that? also, also associated with this
00:25:47one is once, Turkey is the member
00:25:51of NATO right, it is protected by
00:25:55that article five the NATO as well, so why
00:25:59would uh turkey go? and
00:26:02become the part of this particular agreement given that it is
00:26:06already producted by a bigger military
00:26:09alliance? yes, this is a question that I have been
00:26:12asking analysts myself here in in Saudi Arabia, because as you
00:26:16say, Turke is of course part of NATO, the big European
00:26:20defensive alliance, and now they have signed this
00:26:24trilateral Mecca agreement, but I think a lot of it comes down
00:26:28to, as I've said before, we seeing this real change in
00:26:32security. urity in the Middle East, we're seeing instability
00:26:35here at the moment, and I think many countries within the Middle
00:26:39East are really rethinking their
00:26:43agreement and security strategies, because as I said
00:26:46before, the U.S. of course has proven that there is
00:26:50some insufficiencies in what we've seen across the Gulf
00:26:54region. I did speak to few military analysts yesterday and I
00:26:58asked them this exact question on Turkey and NATO, will the...
00:27:02effect Turkey's membership in NATO and they said NATO
00:27:06is largely European, that's something that we must remember, it's a European
00:27:10defense alliance, it's also defense alliance, so
00:27:14it's very much along the same tracks of this agreement that we've seen
00:27:18in Mecca, but once again Turkey is in
00:27:21Europe, but also it's the eastern side
00:27:25the Middle East, so we see Turkey now
00:27:28becoming really more involved in Middle East fairs and that have
00:27:32been so focused on Europe, so expanding,
00:27:36um, that's what it's trying to do, expand its defense
00:27:39capabilities, and many analysts in this region actually
00:27:43don't foresee this as being a conflict at all for
00:27:46Turkey, and I think that is something that we're looking at right now,
00:27:50and you know also, I think US president Donald Trump is of course
00:27:54come into power in the last second term of his
00:27:58and and NATO's been really high on the agenda and we all
00:28:01know. thing President Donald Trump has said time and time again is he
00:28:05wants European countries to step up to pay more
00:28:09for the defense, to secure their borders, to not completely
00:28:13rely on the US. So when I look at this trilateral agreement,
00:28:17I actually think it's something that President Donald Trump and
00:28:20America might actually think this is a good
00:28:24agreement because there have been speculation that
00:28:28munitions are running low when it comes to US munitions due
00:28:31to the... Iran war, so actually the US could see this
00:28:35as a real positive step for regional
00:28:38security. Right, that was exactly the
00:28:42question that I was about to come to you for your understanding,
00:28:45but you have already answered, so it was great having you once again in our
00:28:49show tonight, Lee and Jarens presenter al arabia english, thank you very
00:28:53much for taking time out for on fold tonight, really appreciate that,
00:28:57and now we are honored to being joined by another participant, Dr. Furqan halit Yulchu,
00:29:01his expert middle east. as Dr. Thank you very much for your time for being
00:29:05with us on unfold tonight, we really appreciate that
00:29:08question that I asked lay a short while
00:29:12ago as well, the same question
00:29:14to you, we know for fact there was a
00:29:18mutual strategic mutual defense agreement between Pakistan and
00:29:21Saudi Arabia that was signed back in 2025, at the same
00:29:25time in know for fact the Turkey is the member of
00:29:29NATO, it is well protected by the article of
00:29:32NATO, the collective defense, if an armed attack happens
00:29:36against one the members of NATO, it would be considered attack on the rest the members
00:29:40of NATO, but similar sort of provision was the part of
00:29:44that agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and now Turkey has been included into
00:29:48it, so given that umbrella the protection under NATO is article
00:29:52five, why was there a need felt by
00:29:56Turkey to become the part of this trilateral agreement that gives
00:29:59us the same provision the protection if any? armed attack against one
00:30:03these happens, it would be considered against
00:30:06all.
00:30:08yeah, i think it's it
00:30:12should be about a war that's been going on in the middle east for the
00:30:16recent years, yeah, and this is Iran, United
00:30:19States and Israel,
00:30:23tripartite war, if if you want to call
00:30:25it, as these actors are
00:30:28attacking each other from time to time,
00:30:32bombing the premises or bombing
00:30:36auxiliary, maybe sometimes
00:30:40partnering countries, sometimes logistics, sometimes
00:30:44other means financially or otherwise,
00:30:47these three countries are now in war for more
00:30:51than almost two years and i think the
00:30:55countries the region are now preparing for something that can
00:30:58prevent at.