Brig. Asif Haroon Raja
PAKISTAN is a nuclear-armed state with highly trained, battle-hardened and combat-experienced defence forces. For the past 25 years, they have fought and defeated a wide range of foreign-sponsored terrorists and militant proxies. Pakistan was also among the few countries to mount a comprehensive and successful campaign against terrorism, particularly through the decisive operations that broke the back of the terrorist infrastructure by 2015. Pakistan is once again making concerted efforts to eliminate the menace of terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where terrorist groups continue to receive external support. Its security forces are determined to dismantle the networks responsible for destabilizing the country.
Pakistan’s defence forces have also demonstrated their conventional military prowess under the nuclear overhang during the four-day war with India in May 2025. Pakistan has since emerged as an increasingly consequential security partner and regional stabilizer, with its strategic outreach extending well beyond South Asia. Pakistan’s security forces have effectively countered aggression emanating from Afghanistan through a proactive and increasingly offensive strategy, placing considerable pressure on the de facto Afghan regime. While Kabul has sought to destabilize Pakistan, its own internal contradictions, economic difficulties and political strains have left it facing serious challenges. Its boat is, in fact, increasingly rocking.
Pakistan’s three defence services are continuously enhancing their defensive and offensive capabilities to meet emerging threats. They possess the capacity to deter and, if necessary, thwart aggression from either a single adversary or multiple adversaries acting in concert. Pakistan has developed substantial indigenous capacity in defence production, technical expertise and military technology. It, therefore, does not depend upon external support for its basic defence requirements, particularly in dealing with the conventional threat from India. At the same time, Pakistan is a strategic partner of time-tested China. Beijing has consistently demonstrated its commitment to Pakistan’s security and development.
China is helping Pakistan strengthen its conventional defence capabilities while supporting economic development through the acceleration of CPEC’s second phase. Against this backdrop, the Makkah Accord between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan marks a historic development, combining Türkiye’s advanced technological and industrial capabilities, Saudi Arabia’s economic strength and Pakistan’s military and nuclear capabilities within a common strategic framework. The Accord could provide a strong foundation for an Islamic security architecture and, potentially, an Islamic NATO. Its emergence has already attracted interest among other GCC and Muslim States, offering a possible pathway towards greater strategic unity in the fragmented Muslim world.
The Agreement can also help Pakistan expand and modernize its defence-industrial base and, equally importantly, strengthen its economy. At a time when Pakistan continues to grapple with economic difficulties, enhanced defence cooperation, investment and strategic partnerships could create new opportunities for industrial and economic growth. Saudi Arabia has compelling reasons to seek a stronger indigenous and collective security framework. Its concerns include the threat posed by the Houthis, the potential expansion of Iranian influence, the continuing threat from ISIS and Al-Qaeda, internal security challenges, tensions with the UAE, Israel’s expanding strategic footprint in the Middle East and uncertainty over the long-term reliability of the American security umbrella.
Türkiye, too, faces serious security challenges. The Kurdish militant issue, particularly the activities of armed Kurdish groups operating from Northern Syria, remains a major concern for Ankara. Türkiye is also increasingly conscious of the possibility that shifting regional dynamics could eventually expose it to greater pressure from the United States and Israel. Ankara also recognizes that, in the event of a direct confrontation involving the United States and Israel, NATO’s response cannot simply be taken for granted. These strategic realities have strengthened Türkiye’s incentive to develop additional security partnerships outside the traditional Western framework.
The ongoing Iran-US conflict has further compelled the GCC States to reassess the reliability of the American security umbrella. They increasingly recognize that American military protection in the region has its own limitations and that dependence on external security guarantees can also become a strategic liability. The Kuwait-Pakistan bilateral defence pact likewise reflects the growing security concerns of the Gulf States. The UAE, despite its present alignment with Israel, may sooner or later find greater value in associating itself with an emerging regional security architecture centred on Muslim States.
The trilateral defence pact should be viewed as a step towards enabling Muslim States to assume greater responsibility for Middle Eastern security rather than relying indefinitely on foreign military deployments. It does not require the immediate withdrawal of American forces, but could gradually create an alternative regional security capability. Since all three partners maintain important ties with the United States and have stated that the Accord is not directed against any country, it is essentially defensive, aimed at strengthening deterrence and protecting sovereignty. Greater Muslim strategic unity could enhance regional stability and serve wider international interests. While Iran has welcomed the development, Israel and India are likely to view it with concern.
Both India and Israel may seek to obstruct efforts towards greater Muslim strategic unity through political, diplomatic, informational and covert means, while destabilizing elements could be exploited to undermine emerging cooperation. The appropriate response is not confrontation or adventurism, but unity, strategic patience, institutional coordination and sustained vigilance. Muslim States must remain prepared to counter overt and covert attempts to derail their collective security aspirations. The Makkah Accord should, therefore, be judged not only by what it is today, but by what it could become tomorrow. With political will, mutual trust and sustained cooperation, it could evolve into a broader Muslim security architecture and, ultimately, the foundation of an Islamic NATO.
—The writer is a defence, security and geopolitical analyst.
