T o join or not to join? This question is on whether Bangladesh should join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) jointly unveiled by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan last month.
The collective defence pact, launched on August 7, came more than a year after Saudi Arabia signed a strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA) on September 17.
The signifi cance of these developments should be measured in the context of the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran.
Already, the MJDA has earned a nickname as Islamic NATO as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are all Muslim countries and the pact has a provision similar to NATO’s article 5 that says an attack on any one of the country will be regarded as an attack on all the three countries.
For example, if Saudi Arabia comes under military attack by any country outside the pact it will be seen as an attack on Turkey and Pakistan.
In that case Turkey and Pakistan will have to respond in favour of Saudi Arabia.
Whether it will happen is a different question.
Details about the structure of the agreement and its objectives are yet to be divulged.
But it has already triggered debates in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country far from the Middle Eastern theatre.
It started after government leaders, including Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, made several statements indicating Dhaka’s willingness to join the framework provided it gets a formal invitation from the pact.
Answering a question in parliament Khalilur even played the Muslim card in explaining why Bangladesh should join the threenation defence arrangement.
The question came from Rumeen Farhana, an independent MP, who wanted to know about Bangladesh’s position in regard to the pact.
Khalilur said if the invitation comes from the signatories Dhaka will consider it positively.
He called the pact as a self-defense mechanism for the Muslim world.
Said he, ‘More importantly we have to keep in mind it is the world Muslim community’s self-defense mechanism.
And this is our family’s, Muslim family’s internal matter.
So there is nothing for others to be concerned about.’ Whether others are concerned or not, there are questions being by many foreign policy watchers in Bangladesh, a country which has never been into any military block since its independence in 1971.
Bangladesh has been admired at home and abroad for pursuing a non-aligned policy under the motto, friendship to all and malice to none.
Even the current government’s Bangladesh First policy also upholds the national interests above any other consideration.
Is joining the Mecca Pact good for Bangladesh’s national interests? In which way this serves the national interests of Bangladesh? The three signatories to the pact have their own compulsions in making the move.
Saudi Arabia has taken the lead in forming the pact.
It has the funds to fi nance defence projects and provide other fi nancial assistance; Turkey has the power to supply technical assistance, while Pakistan can provide manpower at the front.
Pakistan has long been providing training to Saudi military and its military cooperation with the oil-rich country is historic.
It is unclear how Bangladesh, which exports civilian manpower to Saudi Arabia, fi ts into the arrangement.
It seems a section of Bangladeshi analysts are misguided as the pact is named after Mecca, one of the holiest sites of the world’s Muslims.
There are more than 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world and only three of them have formed the latest pact.
If others are ignoring the pact why should it be a headache for Bangladesh? A section of analysts fi nd logic in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s willingness to be part of the Mecca pact even though many others are sounding caution.
They advise against hurrying into the pact, referring to the proverb: Look before you leap.