CDF, deputy PM arrive in Turkiye ahead of first defence pact meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia are set to hold the first meeting of a committee established under their landmark trilateral Makkah Defence Pact in Istanbul on Monday (today), as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir arrived in Turkey for official engagements.

The Foreign Office said Dar arrived in Istanbul from the United Kingdom, while the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, separately confirmed Field Marshal Munir’s arrival from Pakistan.

Neither the Foreign Office nor ISPR disclosed details of their respective schedules.

Diplomatic sources, however, said senior officials from Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia were expected to attend Monday’s committee meeting.

The Istanbul visits come amid growing consultations among Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on regional security and diplomatic issues under the Regional-4 (R-4) grouping.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had earlier invited Dar to attend an R-4 meeting scheduled for August, with the Pakistani foreign minister confirming his participation, according to the Foreign Office.

Before travelling to Turkiye, Dar concluded an official visit to the United Kingdom, where he held meetings with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Minister of State for Pakistan Stephen Doughty, National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez and Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, according to the Foreign Office.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026