appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Biman Mukherji

A new defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey has raised questions in New Delhi over whether Islamabad could use the agreement to build wider security ties with Muslim-majority countries in India’s neighbourhood, analysts have said.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on Friday, states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack on all of them.
The tripartite agreement followed a bilateral one between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed last September.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday described the pact as a possible model for a wider military alliance among Islamic countries, comparing such a grouping to Nato.
While Islamic nations are still more likely to prioritise national interests over religious solidarity, analysts say Delhi will need to be cautious because Pakistan has framed the pact as a potential platform for broader cooperation.

The development comes as Bangladesh explores buying JF-17 Thunder fighter jets – co-developed by China and Pakistan – from Islamabad as part of Dhaka’s military modernisation plans.
High-level air force talks and discussions regarding a potential defence pact have taken place between the two countries, alongside reported steps such as training simulator transfers.
Srinivaasan Balakrishnan, director of strategic engagements and partnerships at the Delhi-based Indic Researchers Forum, said the pact could evolve into “a broader ideological or identity-based military bloc” extending its influence to the Indian Ocean region, where India acted as the primary security provider.
“The real strategic question, therefore, is not whether an ‘Islamic Nato’ is being created today,” he said. “The question is whether one can emerge incrementally, through defence agreements, military exercises, intelligence sharing and arms transfers.”
Analysts said India would need to keep a close eye on Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is certainly worth watching closely, as the Indian establishment is doing at the moment. Its defence ties with both Pakistan and Turkey have certainly grown recently,” said Uday Chandra, a political-science professor at India’s Ashoka University.
Pakistan has been actively exploring and expanding into new markets for its defence equipment to bolster its foreign reserves and stimulate its struggling economy.
However, it would still be a stretch for Dhaka to formally join the Mecca pact, even if it bought arms and defence equipment or conducted joint military exercises with Pakistan, Chandra said. “It is possible for Bangladesh to join but it’d be a major leap into an uncertain future.”

India has taken steps to stabilise ties after a period of strain with Bangladesh that followed the ousting of Sheikh Hasina two years ago, whose government had worked closely with Delhi.
Indian security and intelligence agencies have ongoing concerns about Islamic militant groups potentially using or establishing operational spaces within Bangladesh, particularly following political transitions and shifts in regional dynamics.
Tensions resurfaced recently after Hasina, who has been staying in Delhi, held a virtual media interaction on August 5, following which Bangladesh expressed concern that her address undermined stability in the country.
Experts say such concerns could be temporary as trade restrictions imposed over the last two years are likely to be gradually eased. India is Bangladesh’s second-largest trade partner.
Bangladesh and the Maldives – also a Muslim-majority nation – have significant economic, developmental and security ties with India and participate in regional partnerships and connectivity in the Indian Ocean region.
Balakrishnan pointed out that should either nation join any formal or informal alignment with a Pakistan-centred mutual defence framework, it would introduce a significant new variable into the Bay of Bengal and wider Indian Ocean security calculus.
However, Chandra said the Maldives was “less likely” to join such a pact than Bangladesh, given its recent calls for a revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) under Indian leadership.
Saarc, which promotes economic development and integration, includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. It stalled in 2016 after a summit in Pakistan was cancelled, triggered by an Indian boycott following a terror attack in Uri.

Following a tense period driven by the initial “India Out” stance of the Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu, diplomatic relations have turned around, highlighted by high-level state visits, financial support packages, and a first round of negotiations last month on a free-trade agreement.
Analysts said the Mecca pact remained far from the Nato-style alliance invoked by Asif, with differing positions among regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates likely to limit its expansion even in the Middle East.
Satinder Kumar Saini, former vice-chief of the Indian Army staff, said the Mecca pact was “more about political signalling than a commitment to defend each other’s territories”.
The pact had more leverage in the Middle East due to Islamabad’s nuclear capability, but Saini said Saudi Arabia and Turkey were unlikely to join a future India-Pakistan conflict directly.
“India has cultivated Saudi Arabia and the UAE assiduously since 2015 with focused outreach, energy deals and expatriate welfare. This pact complicates that balance. India needs to continue to engage the Saudis, enlarge and deepen our bilateral relationship and interdependence,” he said.
Priyajit Debsarkar, an independent analyst, said Pakistan was seeking to leverage its reputation as a military power among Middle East nations following the failure of US-Iran peace talks, but the Mecca pact was unlikely to be extended to countries like Bangladesh soon because Islamabad would be wary about upsetting the US.
“How this will go down with the Americans is what to watch out for because the Americans might not be very happy with this alternate alliance being set up,” he said.
Debsarkar points to Pakistan’s dependence on multilateral aid such as the International Monetary Fund, where the US is the largest contributor. Pakistan’s economy relies heavily on IMF bailouts to prevent sovereign default and stabilise its foreign exchange reserves.
“Pakistan will have to be very careful about playing its cards correctly,” he said.


As Chinese consumption of gold jewellery slumps 34%, sellers look to markets abroad: WGC

The cooling trap: how Asia’s air conditioners are making heatwaves worse

Reporter’s note: two Delhis, one weekend – when the world came to dinner

Anwar was on song in India. Will Malaysia reap the rewards?

India

‘Islamic Nato’? Why Pakistan’s new defence pact has India on edge

Pakistani people and students hold flags to celebrate the Pakistan-Saudi Arab-Turkish joint defence pact on Monday. Photo: EPA

Pakistan Air Force JF-17 fighter jets perform at a rehearsal in Islamabad in March 2024. Bangladesh has been in talks to buy these jets as part of its military modernisation plans. Photo: AFP

Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Photo: Kyodo

President of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu (right) and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July 2025. Photo: Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) / AFP

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chat after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Photo: Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters

Brics’ ‘stiffest test’: can India, China rally bloc to resolve Strait of Hormuz crisis?

Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Monday. Photo: AFP

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (right) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi during the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on May 14. Photo: Reuters

A composite satellite image shows trail of smoke rising from an oil facility in Jazan province, Saudi Arabia, on July 26. Photo: European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2/Handout via Reuters

Maldives’ plea to restart South Asian bloc hits India-Pakistan brick wall

Pakistani hardline organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa supporters burn a poster of then Indian home minister Rajnath Singh as he arrives in Lahore for a Saarc summit in Lahore on August 3, 2016. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the 18th Saarc summit in Kathmandu, Nepal, on November 26, 2014. Photo: AP

An activist holds the national flag in front a banner praising the Indian defence forces for their military operation, code-named Operation Sindoor, in Mumbai on May 10, 2025. Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 26. Photo: Xinhua

How Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defence pact acts as ‘insurance’ over US disengagement

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (centre), flanked by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday. Photo: Turkish Presidency Press Office/AFP


A Lebanese man holds a piece of shrapnel in a crater caused by an Israeli air strike in the village of Burj al-Shamali, Lebanon, on Thursday. Photo: AP

A destroyed building in Tehran seen in April following US and Israeli strikes. Photo: Xinhua

Small boats sail near container ships anchoring near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb off Yemen’s coast in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday. Photo: AFP

India aims for a 200-ship navy to counter China and Pakistan

INS Mahendragiri, the sixth stealth frigate of India’s Nilgiri-class, test fires a missile. It was commissioned into the navy on July 11. Photo: Instagram/IndianNavy

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (centre) attends the commissioning of INS Mahendragiri in Visakhapatnam on July 11, 2026. Photo: X/RajnathSingh

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Japan’s Sanae Takaichi before a meeting in New Delhi on July 2. Photo: Reuters

This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

South Asia

Analysts say the pact could evolve into a broader ideological military bloc that could extend its influence to the Indian Ocean region


Analysts say the pact could evolve into a broader ideological military bloc that could extend its influence to the Indian Ocean region.


‘Islamic Nato’? Why Pakistan’s new defence pact has India on edge

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysts say the pact could evolve into a broader ideological military bloc that could extend its influence to the Indian Ocean region

Analysts say the pact could evolve into a broader ideological military bloc that could extend its influence to the Indian Ocean region