Mecca Pact not aimed at India, says Saudi Arabia

Hindustan Times reports that the Mecca Pact, a collective defence agreement among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, does not target India despite initial concerns. Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy Rayed Krimly said on the day of signing that the pact was not a military axis, not a sectarian bloc, and posed no threat to any country in the region. The outlet notes that while Pakistan has played up the pact, with defence minister Khawaja Asif calling for a 'NATO of the Islamic world', Saudi Arabia has the least appetite for war and its cautious stance sets the deterrence value.

The analysis argues that India's reflexive scepticism towards the pact may be misplaced. It points out that recent history shows such agreements have little operational impact, as when Iran struck Saudi territory after a bilateral pact with Pakistan, neither side invoked the defence clause. Turkey has sought to institutionalise the pact with a permanent secretariat, but Saudi Arabia has minimised its significance. The article concludes that holding grudges against Turkey and Saudi Arabia limits India's options in a multi-aligned world, and that the pact's deterrence is set by its most careful member, Saudi Arabia.