Bahrain foreign minister congratulates Pakistan on Makkah defence pact, signals intent to visit next week.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani congratulated Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar over the phone for the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The treaty, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and allows the three signatories to treat an attack against any one country as an attack against all. In a post on X, the Pakistani Foreign Office said the leaders spoke late the previous evening. Al Zayani expressed a desire to visit Pakistan in the near future. Dar thanked the Bahraini counterpart for his wishes and welcomed the proposed visit. During the conversation, Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue and diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond. Both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Dar have described the pact as defensive in nature and have said it would remain open to any neighbouring country that upholds the agreement’s fundamental principles. The agreement has been described by the 57‑member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as an “important strategic step.” Kuwait, Bahrain and Somalia have also welcomed the pact, and Iran praised the “security mechanisms based on cooperation between regional countries.”