Munir fails Mecca test: Why Pak's field marshal is not riding to rescue MBS
The Mecca Pact, a defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, faces a credibility crisis as Pakistan's army chief avoids military involvement in the Saudi-Houthi conflict. Despite the pact's intent to provide collective security, geopolitical incentives have led Pakistan to prioritize its relationship with Iran over its obligations to Riyadh.
Why it matters
Exposes the fragility of regional defense alliances in the Middle East and the shifting power dynamics between major Islamic nations.
As Houthi forces seized Mokha and Perim Island last week, Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir spent the moment on the phone with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.Munir seems in no hurry to mobilise Pakistan military against Saudi Arabia's attackers.Why it matters: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) planned the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Turkey specifically as insurance against a moment like this one.Yet the pact's first real test is exposing how little Riyadh can actually count on Islamabad, whose army chief has far stronger incentives to stay out of a shooting war with Tehran than to jump into one on Saudi Arabia's behalf.Catch up quickSaudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in September 2025 and expanded it into the three-way Mecca Pact in August 2026, with a joint secretariat based in Riyadh and Pakistan holding the first three-year chairmanship, Al…
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