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Türkiye on Wednesday denied claims circulating on social media and in some media outlets that people in Pakistan had taken to the streets to protest the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which Ankara signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The Turkish Communications Directorate’s Center for Combating Disinformation said the claims were “entirely false.”
“The footage used in these posts is not related, as claimed, to diplomatic processes between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan or to any agreement,” the center said in a statement.
It said a review found that the footage was from earlier demonstrations in Pakistan concerning domestic political issues.
The center urged the public not to give credence to what it called manipulative posts and “perception-management operations” aimed at misleading public opinion by targeting diplomatic initiatives involving Türkiye.
It said such initiatives seek to strengthen peace, security and stability.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August.
The agreement stipulates that an attack against any one of the signatory states will be considered an attack against all parties.
The denial came as Pakistan has been facing a domestic protest march led by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party to call off a protest march moving through the country’s northwest toward Islamabad and return to negotiations with the government.
Supporters of Khan began the march Sunday, demanding his release after several rounds of talks with authorities aimed at de-escalation stalled.
“I still ask them to come to their senses. End your long marches and sit-ins. Once you end them, we will certainly sit down with you and talk,” Sharif said, referring to the PTI leadership.
Sharif also warned that the demonstration could harm the economy, saying efforts to undermine the government’s economic program “would amount to hostility toward the state.”
“We will not allow this to happen. The law will take its course. Protecting the lives and property of the people is our responsibility, and we will ensure this by all means,” he said.
Authorities have been preparing for weeks for the possible arrival of demonstrators in Islamabad. The march was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 before being postponed until Sunday.
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