Makkah Defence Alliance: Pakistan May Contribute 100,000 Troops to Proposed 300,000-Strong Force

Islamabad: Pakistan is working towards assembling a 300,000-strong force under the Makkah Defense Pact. To this end, it has offered to deploy 100,000 soldiers and 200 military officers. Of these, 50,000 troops would be deployed for combat operations, while the other 50,000 would be assigned to provide training. However, no official announcement has been made regarding this yet.

Pakistan wants the other member nations (Saudi Arabia and Turkey) to contribute a larger number of troops to achieve the target force size of 300,000. Pakistan is prepared to equip this force with various types of weaponry, including nuclear arms; it is the only Muslim nation possessing nuclear weapons. Turkey has offered to open its defense industry to support the Makkah Defense Pact.

How many troops is Pakistan ready to deploy?

Senior Pakistani journalist Moeed Pirzada has reported, citing military sources, that Pakistan's Army Chief, General Asim Munir, and officials associated with the Makkah agreement have proposed that Pakistan could provide one Lieutenant General, two to three Major Generals, seven Brigadier-rank officers, and 200 senior commissioned officers. General Asim Munir believes Pakistan could also provide 50,000 combat troops to the alliance for training purposes. Consequently, the total number of Pakistani troops could reach 100,000.

Will Saudi Arabia and Türkiye deploy 200,000 troops? A total of 300,000 troops could be deployed in the joint army formed under the Mecca Defense Alliance. Turkey and Saudi Arabia would provide the bulk of this force. However, given the troop strengths of their respective militaries, it is unlikely they could contribute such a large number of soldiers. According to Global Firepower and other defense data, the Turkish military has approximately 481,000 active-duty troops, while the Saudi military has around 257,000.

An Islamic NATO or CENTCOM 2.0?

The Mecca Defense Pact is being dubbed an "Islamic NATO" because all three of its founding members are Muslim nations. Egypt and Bangladesh, which aspire to join in the future, are also Islamic countries. Member nations of the pact describe it as a guardian of the *Ummah* (the global Muslim community). However, some outspoken defense experts are comparing it to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). They argue that just as CENTCOM was established to counter the Iranian Revolution, the Mecca Defense Pact has been formed to confront forces rising against Islamic nations.