Opinion | A New Sunni Bloc Is Taking Shape, And Pak May Be Its Biggest Winner |
May 26, 2026 14:31 pm IST
Opinion | A New Sunni Bloc Is Taking Shape, And Pak May Be Its Biggest Winner
The war between Israel-US and Iran has led to the ascendancy of two of India's major adversaries - Pakistan and Turkiye. Already locked in a close embrace militarily, they are now ideologically pushing for an 'Islamic NATO'.
Aditi Bhaduri Aditi Bhaduri Columnist
Aditi Bhaduri Columnist
At a recent press briefing to commemorate the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, publicly identified Turkey as a direct adversary, referring to Turkish military support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Militarily, at least, India perceives Turkey to be a threat of almost the same magnitude as Pakistan. This military support, in fact, led to a major downturn in bilateral relationships, which included the government cancelling contracts to Turkish firms and a downtick in Indian tourism to Turkey.
Now, ironically, the war between Israel-US and Iran has led to the ascendancy of two of India's major adversaries - Pakistan and Turkiye. Already locked in a close embrace militarily, they are now ideologically pushing for an 'Islamic NATO'. Recent reports that Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told a local news outlet that Turkey and Qatar could join the defence pact signed last year between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, have caused a stir, setting off speculation about an Islamic NATO taking shape.
A Concept Long On The Cards
To be fair, the term 'Islamic NATO' is not new. It has been around for more than a decade, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the formation of an Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) to fight "terrorism". This was in 2015. A year before that, the Saudis had astonished the international community with their decision to militarily intervene in Yemen, whose capital, Sanaa, had fallen to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. This marked a paradigm shift in Saudi politics as the Kingdom had usually kept a low profile until then, preferring to leverage its elevated position in the Muslim world and its oil wealth, pulling strings behind the scenes.
The Arab Spring put paid to that. Along with the ascendancy of its main and........