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“The Middle Eastern Region has become a chessboard for Israel.”
The dangerous thing about a chessboard is that you never know how the next move will alter the game. Similarly, no country in the Middle East can predict that Israel will not attack them.
Background
The genocide that started in Gaza is being disseminated in the Middle East. The Israeli attack on Qatar has jolted the Arab world. Before attacking Qatar, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon had faced Israel’s aggression under the guise of attacking the militant group Hamas. The Qatari Emir expressed his concerns regarding the expansionist policies of the aggressor Israel, citing its illegal occupation of Syria, southern Lebanon, and Gaza.
Gulf Cooperation Council meeting
The initial response was an emergency summit of the GCC countries, which pledged to activate a joint defense mechanism to protect the region. The summit established that Israel does not plan to ensure peace in the region, hence a retaliatory force is the need of the hour. The Turkish president further urged the Arab countries to pressure Israel through economic and political means.
Pakistan Saudi Arabia Defense Pact
In this critical scenario came what can be termed as the game changer, the Pak-Saudi Defense pact. The terms were simple: an attack on either state will be considered as an attack on the other. Many can raise questions on the economic, political, and security conditions of Pakistan; however, the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear state is what makes this alliance significant.
In the past month, the world has witnessed Pakistan succeeding in the International arena. From the victory in Pahalgam to the diplomacy of the SCO, Pakistan has revamped its foreign policy. In this scenario, Pakistan’s becoming a signatory to such an agreement can mean more than just a security pact.
Let’s break it down.
Pakistan is the only Islamic State that possesses nuclear weapons. It is not a signatory of the NPT, and neither has it adopted the no-first-use policy. This has been time and again questioned by the International community; however, this power has placed it in the leading position in the Islamic world. As a result of this agreement, Saudi Arabia is guaranteed the nuclear umbrella of Pakistan.
Pakistan, being an Islamic country, has always remained vocal about the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and has time and again urged the United Nations to broker a peace deal. Unlike other Arab and Middle Eastern States, Pakistan has never recognized the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a legitimate state. Naturally, Pakistan welcomes any efforts to defend the Islamic world from Israel.
Pakistan has one of the best air forces in the world and has the ability to intercept Israeli drone technology. This has been proven during the war with India. Such an agreement means that Pakistan now has access to legitimate airspace through which it can launch an offensive/defensive on Israel in case of any escalation. That means Pakistan possesses the technology and expertise to deter Israeli technology.
Moreover, the agreement in Riyadh was not just a joint deterrence; Riyadh has also provided Islamabad with the responsibility for the protection of the Harmain (The Masjid Haram and the Masjid-e-Nabwi), and the belief of Pakistan is that “there is no god but one and Muhammad is the final messenger.” This was a hidden message to Netanyahu, who has time and again voiced his agenda of the Greater Israel in the UN and other International Forums. Harmain are the border line of Pakistan; any movement in that direction is considered a direct attack on Pakistan.
Iran has welcomed this defense pact, and the deputy foreign minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, has stated that several other countries have expressed interest in the Saudi-Pak defense pact.
Conclusion
It is too early to establish a concrete statement about the defense pact because its clauses are not disclosed. There have been statements that this agreement was being discussed for a long time; however, the timing of its inception suggests otherwise. The heads of state of Islamic countries had a meeting with President Trump following the agreement, where they discussed the situation in Palestine. This agreement is speculated to be directly related to Israel’s aggression, and how it unfolds will depend on its policy.
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