On 7 August 2026, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. Officially, it is described as a defensive pact, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack on the other two. Islamabad has been at equal pains to stress that the accord is not directed against any country in particular. For Pakistan, however, the significance of the pact is more than the language of collective defence. It offers Islamabad a chance to recover some d

The signing of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan on August 7, 2026, has generated significant sensationalism. Commentators have labelled it an "Islamic NATO," pointing to its collective defence clause modelled on NATO's Article 5. However, rigorous strategic analysis requires moving past declarative intents to examine the material, geographical, and industrial realities governing the signatories. Illustration by The Geostrata Rather than

The Middle East is at a crossroads, with the regional dynamics shifting. China's brokering of a Saudi-Iranian détente had promised...