The Makkah Joint Defense Act (MJDA) is a joint act between three countries(Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan) that took place in early August 2026. The official texts of the act have not been published yet, but one of the major repercussions of this agreement is that these three countries have declared that a war waged against any one of them would be considered a war against all three, ensuring mutual retaliation. Scholars believe that this act is analogous to NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in Europe and North America. Critics also informally call this the origin of a Muslim NATO. They believe that this will bring about major changes in the geopolitics of Western Asia and South Asia.
India will also have to heavily factor this into its geopolitical strategy and planning, mostly because of the tensions between India and its neighboring country, Pakistan.
I think that policies like this have some benefits for the participating countries, but at the same time, they could also act as a pivotal catalyst for warlike situations through something that I call a “Geopolitical Chain Reaction.” Take, for example, a country that is a part of one such treaty while also being a part of another: Türkiye exemplifies this. So, for example, if India were to retaliate against terrorist activities within its borders via planned attacks on terrorist organizations in Pakistan, there is a possibility that, since Türkiye is a part of both NATO and the MJDA, NATO member countries might be triggered by this. Of course, this is a highly unlikely scenario, but it is still worth examining.
best,
atharva
11/08/2026
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