by Eric S. Margolis
September 19, 2025
Some two decades ago, I was invited to be the keynote speaker at a major Islamic conference. Instead of uttering the usual platitudes about Muslim unity, I rebuked the Muslim World for doing nothing to prevent the massacre of Bosnians by Serb forces and the mass rape of Bosnian Muslim women.
The only Muslim nations who had done anything to help Bosnia’s terrorized Muslims were Iran and Albania. Then military-ruled Turkey, the second largest power in Europe, did almost nothing to help Bosnia. If Jews were being raped or murdered, Israel’s armed forces would have gone into action to rescue them, I asserted.
Not surprisingly I was never invited back to address another Islamic gathering - except for one proud moment last year when I was made a member of Afghanistan’s Pashtun Bangash tribe. A taxi driver refused to take money from me last week and said, ‘you are now an Afghan.’ For me, that is a badge of honor.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a possibly important accord this week. Possibly, I say, because recent history is replete with empty security agreements between the Saudis and Pakistan.
Israel’s recent air attacks on Doha have clearly jolted the Saudis into fearing they might face more Israeli attacks similar to the ones recently suffered by Iran. Israel appears determined to crush the feeble Arab powers of the region and impose its pax Judaica there. To many in the Mideast, the power-drunk Trump administration appears to have become an arm of Israel’s extreme right-wing government.
The immensely rich but militarily feeble Saudis are clearly taking shelter with the terribly poor but militarily powerful, nuclear armed Pakistan - which they should have done long ago. Looking back, we recall when the late President Zia ul-Haq (whom I wrote about last week) commanded a division of crack Pakistani troops tasked with protecting Saudi Arabia’s royal family.
This should happen again. There is a small force of Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia, and more across the Arab World. Pakistan’s military numbers over 600,000 men.
The question remains: will Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella be used to cover Saudi Arabia? That seems unlikely for now because Saudi Royal, with its seas of money and many airbases, remains a pillar of US government power. US arms sales to Saudi are a keystone of US military production and directly influence the rich but powerless Gulf states. Egypt, the only Arab power worthy of note, remains subservient to US demands.
But if Israel advances its interests in the Arab World, the Saudis might invoke support from Pakistan. But Pakistan might develop its own appetite for Arabian oil, as will surely Israel. So too could Turkey, which appears to have taken over much of Syria and deeply hungers for oil, of which it has none. There is also the huge question of India-Pakistan nuclear rivalry.
Copyright Eric Margolis 2025