THIS month’s Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) has sparked a great deal of commentary about strategic shifts in West Asia’s security architecture. The agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is potentially a significant development, even though details about precisely what it might entail in military terms are perhaps deliberately shrouded in ambiguity.

There’s speculation about its expansion (some see Kuwait and Qatar as particularly keen aspirants for club membership), as well as explanations for Egypt’s exclusion: did Cairo voluntarily opt out for the time being, or was it rebuffed by Riyadh? Only time will tell what the future holds, but there’s a near-consensus among analysts that the repercussions of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran reinforced the impression of America as an unreliable saviour, despite the billions the Gulf states have invested in its military industry.

There is, of course, a crucial difference between the pact and the two military alliances Pakistan leapt into during its first decade of existence. Both the Baghdad Pact (renamed Cento after Iraq pulled out in 1958) and Seato were Western-sponsored groupings intended to thwart Soviet and Chinese communist influence. Pakistan appeared to entertain........

© Dawn