Emirati academic's barbed tweet on Pakistan exposes UAE unease over Mecca pact

Emirati academic's barbed tweet on Pakistan exposes UAE unease over Mecca pact MEE staff on Sun, 08/16/2026 - 06:02 Disparaging remarks by Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a former aide to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, on Pakistan's ‘poverty, illiteracy’ and nuclear arsenal spark online backlash.

The security pact signed on Friday by three of the world’s most powerful Muslim nations with a vow to enhance collective deterrence remains far from what many are calling an Islamic Nato, according to experts. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf’s top oil exporter, Nato member Turke