Afghanistan-Pakistan

Countries

  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
    • The Mecca Joint Défense Agreement: A New Geometry of Middle Eastern Power?
  • Analysis

    • The Mecca Joint Défense Agreement: A New Geometry of Middle Eastern Power?

    On August 7, 2026, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Défense Agreement, a collective-defense pact widely compared to NATO’s Article 5. This essay argues that the comparison is misleading. Mecca borrows NATO’s language of solidarity without yet possessing NATO’s institutional machinery, and the Houthi offensive against Saudi Arabia in September 2026 provided an early and revealing test of what the agreement actually means in practice. Neither Pakistan nor Turkey automatically entered the fight on Saudi Arabia’s behalf, and Washington, despite an initial reluctance to strike directly, remained indispensable through intelligence support and a major proposed F-35 sale. Drawing on realist alliance theory — Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz, Stephen Walt, Glenn Snyder, and Steven David — and on the precedent of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), the essay contends that the Middle East is not dividing into rival blocs but moving from hierarchy toward a looser, overlapping geometry of hedged partnerships, in which American exclusivity is eroding considerably faster than American primacy.

    The Mecca Alliance Meets the Red Sea – Saudi Arabia’s New Defense Pact Faces Its First Major Test
  • Commentary

    • The Mecca Alliance Meets the Red Sea – Saudi Arabia’s New Defense Pact Faces Its First Major Test

    When Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to a mutual defense pact in August, it was principally seen as a political commitment. The “Mecca alliance,” as it was dubbed, stipulated that an armed attack on one would be treated as an attack on all three, accompanied by deeper military cooperation.

    The Case for a Middle Course in Afghanistan
  • Commentary

    • The Case for a Middle Course in Afghanistan

    I was a teenage Afghan refugee in Pakistan’s tribal areas when the Twin Towers fell. Almost nobody around us understood the politics of what had happened, but we knew that something had changed for good. Afghanistan, which until then had been our private tragedy and our first exile from Taliban rule, had suddenly become the world’s concern, with the United States leading the response.

    Featured Experts

    The Latest

    Filter by
    1194 Results
    Managing US Relations with Pakistan in Uncertain Times: Opportunities and Obstacles
    Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • Managing US Relations with Pakistan in Uncertain Times: Opportunities and Obstacles

    With the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, America’s bilateral relationship with Pakistan may have come to hold less priority. If it was thought, however, that the U.S. could afford to largely turn its back on Pakistan and its region, it has instead become increasingly evident that American strategic interests and other concerns demand continued attention and involvement. It is imperative that American policymakers take a longer view when it comes to dealing with Pakistan, especially at a time when great power competition is intensifying across South Asia. It is in the interest of both the U.S. and Pakistan to develop a mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship.

    December 7, 2023

    Syed Mohammad Ali 

    War delays but likely will not fully derail IMEC plans
    Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • War delays but likely will not fully derail IMEC plans

    The Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel and the latter’s ongoing military operation in Gaza have stalled progress in the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and raised questions about its prospects for eventual completion. The IMEC faces multiple viability challenges, but none of them are insurmountable; thus, its participants are unlikely to abandon it.

    Expert Views: How do we restart the Middle East peace process?
    Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • Expert Views: How do we restart the Middle East peace process?

    What would it take to start a new Israeli-Palestinian peace process that could actually have the prospect for enduring success? MEI has asked a group of regional and U.S. experts to weigh in.

    December 1, 2023

    Randa Slim, Moien Odeh…

    Afghan refugees as victims of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s clashing security interests
    Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • Afghan refugees as victims of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s clashing security interests

    For decades Pakistan has threatened to deport its undocumented Afghan refugees, but Islamabad has never undertaken a campaign to oust Afghans on anything like the scale now underway. Whether voluntarily or through force, Pakistan’s interim administration, backed by the senior military leadership, seems determined to rapidly uproot 1.7 million of the estimated 3.5 million Afghans believed to be in the country. The government’s decision comes at a terrible time given the conditions in Afghanistan and the feared humanitarian impact.

    Earthquake in Afghanistan: Natural disasters, international isolation, and Taliban incapacity
    Photo by ESMATULLAH HABIBIAN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • Earthquake in Afghanistan: Natural disasters, international isolation, and Taliban incapacity

    On Oct. 15, a third earthquake hit western Afghanistan’s Herat province within the span of roughly one week. The Taliban’s international isolation has neither compelled the Taliban to change its behavior nor improved its capacity to respond to such disasters. A new policy for Afghanistan is long overdue and must place Afghans at the center of the debate. It’s time for the international community to wake up to that stark reality and respond to thehumanitarian crises turning Afghanistan into a black hole.

    October 18, 2023

    Shanthie Mariet D'Souza

    Myths and realities of ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan under the Taliban
  • Commentary

    • Myths and realities of ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan under the Taliban

    The dire state of girls and women in Afghanistan under the Taliban, a tragedy that has featured frequently in international media reports in the last two years, came up for discussion in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on September 27. The UNSC convened for an open briefing, followed by consultations focusing on the severe restrictions imposed on the rights of women and girls in the country.

    September 29, 2023

    Shanthie Mariet D'Souza

    Load More

    Read the Middle East Journal

    The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.

    Read Now