Published on: September 23, 2025 2:47 AM

Israel’s recent airstrikes on Doha have shaken the Arab world to its core, exposing the fragility of regional security and the indifference of the West to Arab sovereignty. While the United States, the self-proclaimed guardian of global order, chose silence in the face of this aggression, the Muslim world has been forced into a reckoning: either remain fragmented under the weight of Israeli military superiority or forge new alignments that can credibly deter further escalation. In this context, the Pakistan-Saudi Defence Pact emerges not merely as a bilateral agreement but as the potential cornerstone of a broader Muslim defence axis, one rooted both in geopolitical necessity and deep emotional ties to the Harmain Sharifein. For Pakistan, with its nuclear capability and decades of defence expertise, the pact represents a chance to redefine its role as a guarantor of Muslim security. For Saudi Arabia, whose custodianship of Makkah and Madinah carries unparalleled significance, it is a call to fortify the sanctity of the Islamic heartland against external threats.

The mere possibility of a nuclear-backed Pakistan aligning with the Arab heartland could compel Israel and its allies to reconsider reckless adventurism.

Israel’s aggression is not new; it is part of a long and bloody record of destabilisation. From the 1967 Six-Day War and the illegal occupation of Jerusalem and Gaza, to the 1982 invasion of Lebanon that left nearly 20,000 civilians dead, and the repeated bombardments of Gaza since 2008, Israel has consistently employed disproportionate force against weaker neighbours. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between 2008 and 2023, over 6,400 Palestinians were killed, nearly 1,400 of them children. Just last year, Amnesty International confirmed that Israel continues to operate as an apartheid state, enforcing systemic oppression over Palestinians. The attack on Doha, however, crosses a new line. It directly targets an Arab capital, undermining Gulf sovereignty and signalling that no Arab city is beyond Israel’s reach.

What makes this episode even more alarming is Washington’s silence. The United States, which provides Israel with 3.8 billion dollars annually in military assistance, including precision-guided munitions and........

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