Iran, US bases and the 'Bhutto Pact': Why is it so difficult for Islamic countries to unite?
In February
1974, the second summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an
organization of Islamic countries, was held in Lahore, Pakistan.
The then
King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia was also present at this
summit.
While addressing
the OIC summit, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had
said, ‘We are a poor country, we have limited resources, we do not have enough
money to contribute to the construction of economic institutions, in this case
we will not be able to provide economic cooperation.’
He also
said, ‘But by calling Allah as witness, I assure you all that we will not
hesitate to give a single drop of blood for Islam. The people of Pakistan and
the soldiers of Pakistan are the soldiers of Allah. Whenever there is a
conflict in the future, Pakistanis will stand to help.’
At that
time, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was taking a pledge to shed blood for Islam, the
Islamic revolution had not taken place in Iran, nor had Saddam Hussein attacked
Iran.
At that
time, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan did
not recognize Israel. Saudi Arabia had not attacked Yemen, nor had Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed ties with Qatar.
Although
Bangladesh had separated from Pakistan by that time, Zulfikar Bhutto was still
hopeful for the unity of Islamic countries.
And today,
after almost 51 years, Pakistan once again wants Islamic countries to unite
against Israel.
Despite
Pakistan becoming a nuclear power, governments were changing one by one in many
Islamic countries.
For example,
there are no anti-Western governments in Iraq, Libya and Syria, and now the
same seems to be happening in Iran, even though Pakistan itself was once
helping the American military campaign in Afghanistan.
Differences
between Muslim countries
Israel
launched attacks on Iran on June 12, after which Iran retaliated, and attacks
from both sides are still ongoing.
The effects
of the conflict between Iran and Israel are being felt throughout West Asia.
Many are also presenting this situation as a ‘war against Islam’.
Pakistan’s
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif appealed to all Muslim countries in the National
Assembly last week to unite against Israel.
In such a
situation, the question arises that will Islamic countries be able to unite?
Another question is why does Pakistan repeatedly talk about the unity of
Islamic countries?
Pakistan is
in favor of the fact that Islamic countries around the world should unite and
respond against Israel, however, the current situation is that Islamic countries
are surrounded by mutual conflicts and differences.
The tension
between Saudi Arabia and Iran has not ended yet.
The conflict
between these two countries ranges from the Sunni sect versus the Shia sect to
the Saudi Arabian monarchy versus the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Azerbaijan is
a Shia-majority Muslim country, but it has close ties with Israel, while it has
tensions with Shia-majority Iran.
On the other
hand, Iran was not opposing the United States when the United States invaded
Iraq and ensured the execution of Saddam Hussein.
The same
year that the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran, Egypt recognized Israel
and decided to establish diplomatic relations with it. Jordan also recognized
Israel in 1994.
In 2020, the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan also restored diplomatic
relations with Israel.
Is the
Palestinian issue Islamic?
Talmiz Ahmed
says that ‘the US military is present in every Arab country. There are 70,000
US soldiers stationed throughout the Gulf. They have ‘extraterritorial rights’,
meaning that the laws of that country do not apply to them.’
According to
him, ‘the US has military bases in these countries and they have complete US
authority over them. No Arab country can stop the US from doing so. Obviously,
Israeli drones are coming through Jordan. It was Jordan’s responsibility to
stop these drones.’
Talmiz Ahmed
said that ‘many drones themselves fall in Jordan. There is a distance of two
thousand kilometers between Tel Aviv and Tehran, but the fighting is being
carried out with drones.’
According to
Talmiz Ahmed, Iran cannot be compared to Iraq because the Iraq war was entirely
America’s war.
He further
says that ‘Before 1967, the Palestine-Israel issue was an Arab issue, but after
Israel’s victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, this issue has remained only
between Palestine and Israel. If anyone can solve it, it is Israel and the
Palestinians.’
Talmeez
Ahmed agrees that Pakistan’s importance has increased due to the Iran-Israel
war.
‘The West
would like Pakistan not to help Iran in any way, while Iran would like Pakistan
to stand with it. During the Cold War, Pakistan was in the US camp and now it
is not so easy for it to go with Iran.’
Pakistan’s
Field Marshal Asim Munir met US President Trump at the White House for lunch on
June 18 and in the current situation, this meeting is being linked to the
Iran-Israel war.
Former
Indian diplomat KC Singh wrote on the social networking website X that ‘This
meeting can have two meanings. Either Trump wants to know how the Pakistani
military will react if the United States joins the war against Iran, or Trump
has already decided that he will destroy Iran’s nuclear program and he needs
Pakistan’s help for that.’ Michael Kugelman, an analyst who closely monitors
the geopolitics of South Asia, wrote that ‘If the current Iranian government
remains in power in the future, Pakistan-Iran relations will strengthen, and a
positive environment will also be created for improving Saudi-Iranian
relations.’
What if
Iran loses?
After
Israel’s attack on Iran, President Erdogan is once again seen speaking openly,
but just a few months ago, the pro-Iranian government in Syria was weakened
with the help of Turkey.
In a way,
Iran suffered a defeat at the hands of Turkey in Syria.
In a long
post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), President Erdogan wrote
about Israel that ‘Israel has attacked Iran with the full support of the West.
Israel has destroyed Gaza and terrorized every country in the region. In fact,
Israel itself does not know what it is doing.’
He wrote that
‘It may realize its mistake later, but we fear that by then it will be too
late. Israel should remember that in ancient times, no country had its own
borders or governments. ’
President
Erdogan wrote that ‘Israel’s attack on the Palestinian people and their land is
not just a matter of millions of people, and now that Israel has attacked Iran
and its people, this attack is not just a matter of Iran. When this attack
reaches Turkey, its scope will be wider.’
The Turkish
president wrote in the post that ‘Any decision made without understanding the
facts in this region can prove to be disastrous for the future. The more Israel
commits atrocities, the more blood it sheds, the more crimes against humanity
it commits, the more it will endanger its existence. It will ultimately regret
these atrocities.’
However, the
interests of Turkey and Iran have long been clashing in West Asia.
Similarly,
there are deep differences between the Gulf Islamic countries. In such a
situation, it seems difficult to unite against Israel on the basis of religion
alone. That too when the United States stands with Israel.
What will
happen if Iran loses this war? In response to this question, Stanley Jony,
international editor of ‘The Hindu’ newspaper, writes: ‘If Iran loses this war,
Israel’s influence in West Asia will increase further. Bashar al-Assad has
already been ousted from Syria. The armed groups supported by Iran have already
been weakened. Israel has destroyed Gaza. Now it will do whatever it wants in
the West Bank.’
According to
Stanley Joni, ‘If Iran is weakened, Russia’s remaining influence in West Asia
will also be reduced, and China will have to rely more on oil from the Gulf
countries, America’s allies.’