Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact, “reflecting the three states’ shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future”, the FO said.

“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” it noted.

The pact also “provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation” among the three countries, the FO statement added.

Earlier in the day, PM Shehbaz, accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, met with the Saudi crown prince in Makkah on Friday.

PM Shehbaz arrived in Saudi Arabia on a three-day official visit on Thursday. The Foreign Office (FO) has noted that although the visit was taking place amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, it carries “significance beyond the immediate crises and short-term considerations”.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said a bilateral meeting between PM Shehbaz and the Saudi crown prince was underway.

It added that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, CDF Munir, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif were also present on the occasion.

The premier was welcomed by Crown Prince Salman upon his arrival at the Al-Safa Palace in Makkah.

According to an earlier statement by the FO, discussions between the two leaders would “focus on consolidating the Pakistan-Saudi bilateral relations as well as exchange of views on regional and international developments of mutual interests”.

The FO noted that the visit will “further strengthen bilateral relations, deepen strategic cooperation, enhance coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest, and reinforce multilateral cooperation”.

“The visit marks Pakistan’s long-standing partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia anchored in decades of mutual trust, cooperation and brotherhood,” it emphasised.

Erdogan was expected to meet with PM Shehbaz and the Saudi crown prince today during his one-day visit to the kingdom, Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, from where he departed for Makkah by road, the Turkish news outlet reported.

PM Shehbaz had landed in Jeddah on Thursday, where he was received by Makkah’s Deputy Governor Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz.

CDF Munir later joined the Pakistani delegation, which also includes Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi.

On Friday morning, the delegation visited the Holy Kaaba and performed Umrah, the PMO said. PM Shehbaz is also set to visit Masjid-i-Nabvi (PBUH) in Madina.

More to follow

The Protest and Police Response

The "Cockroach Janta Party," a Gen Z-led movement named after a Supreme Court chief justice's remark comparing unemployed youth to cockroaches, organized a peaceful march to parliament on July 20 . Police responded with batons and tear gas, injuring scores of protesters. One young woman protester remains in critical condition .

Who Ordered 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗵𝗶 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲?

Amit Shah Must Resign!

Everything will be remembered. pic.twitter.com/OAopP7lweM

— Cockroach Janta Party of India (@CJP_for_India) August 7, 2026

Supporters of the movement have now demanded Shah's resignation, calling for accountability over the police crackdown. The controversy has deepened as the government has also filed First Information Reports (FIRs) against social media accounts that amplified the protests, including parody accounts and student activists .

This is really a blood boiling moment.

This really need to be addressed and brought to books these inhumans. https://t.co/ZP7RYPxIO9

— The Human (@Shilpi17289185) August 7, 2026

Shah's Response to Criticis

In response to the growing backlash, Home Minister Amit Shah defended the police action, stating that "police is the face of the law and must act accordingly" . He has also accused the opposition of "politicizing" the protests. At a recent rally, Shah attempted to dismiss the criticism by mocking the demands of the movement, stating, "They are demanding—Amit Shah should be sacked. Abhi toh main mauj mein hoon" (I am enjoying myself right now) .

However, his remarks have drawn renewed criticism, with many interpreting them as arrogance in the face of public anger. Opposition leaders have called for his parliamentary appearance as the debate intensifies, accusing him of overseeing a "systematic crackdown on dissent" .

The Cockroach Janta Party Movement

The protests have become a significant political challenge for the Modi government. The movement, which began as a demand for justice over the NEET exam scandal, has expanded to include grievances against unemployment, corruption, and the erosion of democratic freedoms .

Parody accounts and activists have used the "Cockroach" label with defiance, turning an insult into a rallying cry. The government's legal response against social media accounts has further galvanized the movement.

Calls for Accountability

Human Rights Watch has condemned the police crackdown as "excessive force," and opposition leaders have demanded an impartial investigation. The controversy has deepened divides over free speech and protest rights in India, with the government's actions seen by critics as part of a broader pattern of authoritarianism .

The demand for Shah's resignation has now become a central rallying point for the movement, with the "Cockroach Janta Party" declaring on social media: "Everything will be remembered."

The agreement was signed at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on August 7, 2026, by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at the gracious invitation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The Agreement: Collective Deterrence Against Aggression

The agreement stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three States.

Key provisions of the agreement include:

• Collective defence mechanism: An attack on one is an attack on all

• Enhanced defence cooperation: Joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and defence industrial collaboration

• Strategic coordination: Alignment of defence policies to address shared threats

• Regional stability: Commitment to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond

A "Muslim-NATO" Alliance Takes Shape

The agreement has been described by analysts as the formation of a "Muslim-NATO" alliance, combining the unique strengths of each nation:

• Saudi Arabia: Financial muscle and geopolitical influence

• Turkey: Advanced defence technology and a battle-hardened military

• Pakistan: Military might and a nuclear umbrella

A Game-Changer for Regional Security

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement builds on the existing Saudi-Pakistani strategic defence pact signed in September 2025, which stipulated that an attack on either nation would be considered an attack on both. Turkey's inclusion creates a "military iron triangle" that significantly enhances the collective security of the three nations.

The urgency of the pact stems from a growing sense of insecurity among US allies in the region amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict and broader Middle East turmoil. The agreement signals a shift toward collective self-reliance in defence.

Based on Historical Ties and Islamic Solidarity

Guided by the longstanding historical ties among the three States, based on the enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity that unite them, the agreement builds upon their shared strategic interests and longstanding defence cooperation.

The signing in Makkah, Islam's holiest city, adds significant symbolic weight to the announcement, reflecting the three States' shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security.

The "Mecca Agreement": A Game-Changer Alliance

The agreement, expected to be signed in the holy city of Mecca, builds on the existing Saudi-Pakistani strategic defence pact signed in September 2025, which stipulated that an attack on either nation would be considered an attack on both . Turkey, a key NATO member with the alliance’s second-largest military, has now joined this framework, creating what experts call a "military iron triangle" .

Strategic Components of the Alliance

Analysts point to the unique strengths each nation brings to the table, making this alliance a potential game-changer:

• Saudi Arabia: Financial Muscle & Geopolitical Influence - As the wealthiest Arab nation, Riyadh provides the economic backing and regional diplomatic weight .

• Turkey: Advanced Defence Technology & Military Experience - Ankara contributes a battle-hardened military and a rapidly growing defence industry, including drones and naval technologies .

• Pakistan: Military Might & Nuclear Umbrella - Islamabad offers a large, professional standing army and is the only nuclear-armed state in the Muslim world, providing a powerful deterrent .

Why Now? The Need for a "Muslim-NATO"

The urgency of the pact stems from a growing sense of insecurity among US allies in the region. The ongoing Iran-US conflict and the broader Middle East turmoil have raised serious questions about the reliability of the United States' traditional security guarantees . As a result, these nations are seeking to formalize their own collective security mechanism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (accompanied by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir), and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to sign the deal . The gathering in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, adds significant symbolic weight to the announcement . The agreement is also expected to cover joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and enhanced defence industrial cooperation, including Turkey's potential inclusion in Pakistan's fifth-generation fighter jet program .

Police said the shooter, who was 14 years old, fired at least 26 bullets, and was found with 34 additional ammunition rounds. The gun had belonged to his grandfather, police said.

Students streamed out of the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, on the capital’s northwestern outskirts, as the wounded were loaded on to ambulances and teachers hugged each other and cried. In photos circulated by emergency workers, one person is seen lying down on a stretcher outside an ambulance, while another is attended to by a medic.

Police said 23 people were wounded in the incident, the latest in a succession of high-profile shootings in recent years in Thailand, which has by far the largest number of guns in civilian possession in Southeast Asia, and among the most per capita in Asia, according to a 2017 estimate by the Small Arms Survey.

One 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially thought there were firecrackers going off or someone banging an object.

“I didn’t think it was a gun at first,” he said. “There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”

Second school shooting

Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong told Reuters that both teachers and students were among the casualties. The motive for the shooting was being investigated, he told reporters.

Police identified the perpetrator as a student. It is the second school shooting in Thailand this year after a teacher died and a student was injured in the south of the country in February.

Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, described arriving as the shooting was ongoing and his team treated students with injuries in the back, chest and arms. They found a male teacher lying dead on an upper floor of the school, and in another room they found a female teacher with wounds in her chest and arm.

“We gave CPR for about 30 minutes and rushed her to the hospital as we could not get her heart rate up, but we tried our best,” he said.

He said he was called to treat the teenage shooter after hearing a final shot.

“We rushed up and found that the perpetrator had shot himself in the right side of the head and collapsed. When we got up there, we checked his pulse, he still had one, so we started CPR.” The suspect was then taken to the hospital, he said.

Traffic near the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi was nearly at a standstill, an AFP journalist saw, with local media reporting that parents were picking up their children following the incident.

In the 2025 academic year, the school had an enrollment of around 3,100 students and 147 teachers, according to district authorities.

Deputy Education Minister Akkharanan Kannakittinan said in a statement he was coordinating to provide assistance.

“This is terrible for something like this to happen,” Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. “I’m sad for those who died and sad for something like this to happen in our country.”

History of shootings

Gun ownership and gun violence are not uncommon in Thailand, which has seen a series of deadly shootings in the past six years, with children among the victims.

Thailand’s worst mass killing by a single perpetrator in its recent history took place in 2022, when a former policeman ran amok in a three-hour gun-and-knife attack in the northeast that killed 36 people, including 22 children stabbed as they slept at a daycare centre.

A gunman killed five people, including security guards and a vendor, at a Bangkok market in July 2025 before turning the gun on himself, while a teacher died in the southern city of Hat Yai in February this year when a shooter opened fire at a school where she worked.

In 2020, a soldier killed 29 people in a shooting rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima. And in 2023, a 14-year-old used a modified handgun to kill two people and wound five others at a luxury Bangkok shopping centre.

After the 2023 shooting, Anutin, who was then serving as interior minister, ordered a raft of gun control measures, including a short-term ban on new licenses, import restrictions, and banning of people under 20 years from shooting ranges.

Longer-term measures also included a medical certificate assessing the mental health and psychological condition of gun owners as well as a specified validity period for some gun licenses.

Thailand had an estimated 10.3 million firearms in civilian possession, equating to around 15 guns per 100 residents, the highest rate in Southeast Asia by a wide margin, according to a 2017 estimate by the Small Arms Survey.

Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president’s crackdown on immigration, with the White House taking particular aim at what it calls “birth tourism,” in which pregnant foreigners travel to the US to give birth.

After his June 30 setback in the Supreme Court, Trump called on Congress to act, but on Thursday he opted for executive orders, which set policy but do not carry the same weight as laws passed by Congress.

The Supreme Court had struck down as unconstitutional Trump’s earlier executive order, which targeted a wide swath of immigrants in the country illegally or temporarily.

The administration argues the new directive falls outside the purview of the Supreme Court ruling, as it seeks to reinterpret the narrow, historical exceptions to citizenship at birth and expand who is ineligible.

“That practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned,” White House aide Stephen Miller said at the Thursday signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

The Centre for Immigration Studies, which supports lower levels of immigration, estimated in an analysis in 2020 that between 20,000 and 25,000 mothers came to the US for birth tourism in a year-long period between 2016 and 2017.

There were 3.6 million births in the US in 2025.

The executive orders also limit the rights of children born to foreign government employees in the US and children of people who are classified as alien enemies.

The orders could also affect people born in US territories, should Congress enact a proposed law to end automatic citizenship there.

Trump’s new orders are likely to face legal challenge. Legal experts said it was unclear what effect the executive orders might have given the Supreme Court ruling, while immigrant advocates called it an attempt to evade the high court’s decision.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) predicted it was doomed to fail in court.

“Just five weeks ago, the Supreme Court made clear that birthright citizenship is not subject to a president’s whims; it is a constitutional guarantee that has stood for more than 150 years. Today’s executive orders are nothing more than an attempt to get around that ruling,” said Deborah Fleischaker, a former Biden administration official who is now with UnidosUS, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organisation.

Zain Lakhani of the Women’s Refugee Commission said the executive orders could trample the rights of pregnant women seeking lawful entry “in one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives”, and called on the government to establish guidelines honouring the Supreme Court ruling.

‘A very unfortunate decision’

Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, called the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on June 30 a “very unfortunate decision”, decrying that “people are building businesses around” birth tourism.

“That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” he said.

Trump’s prior executive order, issued on his first day in office in 2025 as part of a suite of policies to crack down on immigration, directed US agencies not to recognise the citizenship of children born in the United States if neither parent is an American citizen or legal permanent resident, also called a “green card” holder — barring babies of immigrants in the US illegally or temporarily.

The 14th Amendment has long been interpreted as guaranteeing citizenship for babies born in the US with only narrow exceptions such as the children of foreign diplomats or members of an enemy occupying force.

“This was done for a different reason. This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves, and what’s happening now?” Trump said.

There are no official figures tallying the number of foreigners who come to the US for the explicit purpose of giving birth and obtaining citizenship for their children, or the cost to taxpayers.

In any case, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the Supreme Court ruling that the authors of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in the land.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. We keep that promise today,” Roberts wrote.

The 14th Amendment provision known as the Citizenship Clause states: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”