Another Islamic defence axis may be taking shape, with Pakistan signing an MoU with Turkiye, Qatar and Indonesia to deepen cooperation in defence production and bolster military capabilities.
Signed in Doha with little fanfare, the Badr agreement, unlike the Mecca pact, is not a promise to fight together, but a plan to build defence capabilities together.
For the Modi Govt in India, it raises concerns: -- Pakistan is cleverly making efforts to diversify its sources of weapons and military technology. Indonesia joining such a pact is a vital episode.
India's Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh gets one-year extension till October 2027
The 1989-batch IAS officer of the Keralam cadre, took over as Defence Secretary on November 1, 2024.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved a one-year extension for Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, whose tenure was due to end on October 31, 2026. He will now serve until October 31, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The extension comes as the Defence Ministry pursues reforms, including the creation of theatre commands, greater self-reliance in defence manufacturing and the rollout of key doctrines.
Before taking charge, Singh had served as Officer on Special Duty and Defence Secretary-designate since August 20, 2024.
There is an added 'ironical element' and a new angle. Indonesia's participation in such a pact with Pakistan has come months after signing a deal with India for BrahMos missiles.
The Badr deal focuses on joint defence manufacturing, technology sharing, military training and research and development among the four countries - Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar and Turkiye.
Essentially, it mostly concerns industrial cooperation rather than a mutual defence pledge.
Turkiye, in fact, already has military manufacturing ties with Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia separately. What the Badr MoU does is closely integrate the supply chains of the countries. Each country hopes to its own set of resources and skills.
Turkiye boasts one of the world's most advanced defence sectors, Pakistan and Indonesia offer manufacturing capacity and labour. Qatar will boost investment and demand.
The Mecca Defence Alliance (also called the Mecca Pact or Makkah Joint Defence Agreement) is a trilateral military agreement signed on August 7, 2026, by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
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There are theories about calling it Badr pact. The Arabic word means full moon, but experts suggest the name might have drawn inspiration from the Battle of Badr in 624 CE, regarded as Prophet Muhammad's first major military victory.
"We may be witnessing the emergence of an interconnected network of defence and security arrangements extending from the Gulf to Southeast Asia, rather than a single formal alliance," defence analyst Arda Mevlutoglu told Al Jazeera.
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The MoU comes months after Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia entered into the Mecca defence agreement. It is, however, very different from the Badr deal.
The Mecca pact essentially focuses on collective defence, under which an attack on one member country is treated as an attack on all.
The Badr memorandum, meanwhile, seeks to build the military and industrial capabilities of its members.
Experts feel that both the agreements could complement each other. While the Mecca pact focuses on joint military cooperation, the Badr MoU could support it through industrial and technological capabilities.
In India, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has noted that the pact lacks a clear operational playbook and must be judged by how it responds to live military situations.
New Delhi also sought diplomatic assurances from Riyadh that the clause will not be applicable to South Asian bilateral disputes.
India also faces an imperative to fast-track its domestic air defense networks, electronic warfare capabilities, and intelligence-sharing architectures along its western seaboard.
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