FOR INDIA, CLARITY, NOT PANIC OR DENIAL

We must respond with steady engagement with Riyadh and a calibrated approach to the sabre-rattling

- BY SYED AKBARUDDIN

The Saudi-Pakistan strategic mutual defence agreement signed on September 17 has sparked speculation across two seas and a subcontinent. One line matters: an attack on one is an attack on both. That line has stirred debate from the Gulf to the Himalayas over rewiring strategic playbooks. For India, the choice is clarity and posture, not panic or denial.

Why now? Start with Doha. On September 9, Israeli jets struck a safe house in the Qatari capital where Hamas leaders were weighing a ceasefire proposal. The blast rattled Gulf capitals, but fit a larger pattern of Israeli action this year across seven fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Tunisia and, now, Qatar. With little visible restraint from Washington, regional confidence is shaken and has fuelled speculation about the next flashpoint.

That is why layered defence is now doctrine. Houthi strikes from Yemen on Saudi regions Abqaiq and Khurais in 2019 were a hard lesson. Distance and deals do not stop drones or cruise missiles. Gulf states now build redundancy into policy, harden infrastructure and diversify supply chains. Disillusionment with great power protection is no longer theoretical. It is a hard fact.