Bangladesh’s joining Mecca pact internal matter: Jamaat ameer

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Thursday said Bangladesh’s decision to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is entirely its own matter, and no outside entity should feel distressed by a move taken in the national interest.
Shafiqur Rahman made the remarks in a post on his verified Facebook page, a day after Dhaka expressed positive interest in the Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan security initiative.
“Joining the Mecca Pact is a matter entirely internal to Bangladesh. There is no need for anyone else to feel suffocated if Bangladesh makes a decision in the interest and for the needs of the country and the nation,” he said.
Earlier on 7 August, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a defence agreement under which an attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three.
On Monday, newly appointed State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Bangladesh viewed the Mecca Defence Pact positively, adding that Dhaka’s participation in such an initiative among Islamic nations would not be unusual.
“Mecca is in the heart of Bangladesh and in the hearts of the people,” Kobir said, adding that the three countries were inviting Bangladesh’s leadership, particularly Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, to participate in the initiative.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement aims to formalise a collective-deterrence security framework among the three countries to counter external aggression and proactively address regional instability.
The pact also seeks to establish an independent regional security architecture that would promote greater strategic autonomy and reduce reliance on traditional great-power security arrangements.