Will Pakistan-Saudi-Turkiye alliance actually create a new regional order?

It was a historic announcement. On Friday, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact, building on a similar agreement between Riyadh and Islamabad last year.But the Mecca Joint Defence Pact, as the agreement is known, has raised questions about the shifting power dynamics in the Middle East region.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3War on Iran: Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan sign defence pactlist 2 of 3Two civilians killed in Houthi strike on Marib, says Yemen’s governmentlist 3 of 3Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign joint defence agreement: What’s in it?end of listExperts have speculated that the deal may mark the beginning of a wider regional alliance that sits between Israel and Iran, wary of both.While the signatories seek to project a message of strength and unity in the face of regional threats, they have also been cautious about framing the pact as a deterrent.Analysts note that the three countries have been cautious not to antagonise regional adversaries. It remains unclear the extent to which the pact would force its members to defend their alliance partners.“We haven’t seen the Mecca declaration yet. We believe it says an attack on o...