Leaders from over 40 Arab and Islamic nations convened an emergency summit on Monday after Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, India Today reported .
The meeting produced little beyond condemnations and pledges, but the idea of a NATO-style “Arab-Islamic military alliance” drew strong support.
Pakistan and Turkey were central to the discussions. Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim country, tried to push itself into the spotlight as the self-proclaimed ummah champion.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar led Islamabad’s delegation, co-sponsoring the summit and pressing for an “Arab-Islamic task force” to counter what they called “Israeli designs.”
Dar declared that Israel “should not be allowed to get away with attacking Islamic countries and killing people with impunity,” adding that 1.8 billion Muslims were “eyeing this summit” for a clear roadmap.
Turkey, represented by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, joined the chorus against Israel, describing its actions as a “greedy, bloodthirsty assault on sovereignty.”
While Ankara stopped short of backing a military alliance, it urged economic pressure on Tel Aviv.
Turkey’s alignment with Islamabad carried an undertone that will not be lost on New Delhi, given Turkey’s past support to Pakistan during the four-day mini-war in May, when Turkish arms, personnel, and technicians were sent to Islamabad against India.
For India, the possibility of an “Arab-Islamic Nato” with both Pakistan and Turkey in its ranks poses potential unease.
Pakistan has long sought “strategic depth,” lobbied at every possible forum to internationalise Kashmir, and relied on Arab funding and technology to stay afloat during economic crises.
A collective defence pact on the lines of NATO, where an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, could embolden Islamabad with another multilateral platform to raise its anti-India agenda.
New Delhi’s $2 billion annual defence trade with Israel and energy cooperation add further complexity.
India has maintained a balanced line on the Israel-Palestine conflict, even voting for Palestinian statehood at the UN, but its strategic embrace of Tel Aviv sits uncomfortably against the summit’s anti-Israel thrust.
For now, the proposed alliance remains more rhetoric than reality, with members like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt still cultivating close ties with India, and endorsing such a grouping could affect their ties with India.
Further, many of the Gulf Countries have themselves had strained relations with Qatar as in the past they have accused Doha of providing support to terrorists.
However, the presence of Pakistan and Turkey at the Doha summit ensures that the proposed “Arab-Islamic” NATO will remain a geopolitical development India cannot ignore.