New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- From the outset, the Mecca Pact carried the burden of scepticism. Announced with much fanfare by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in August 2026, it was projected as a historic defence alliance, a bulwark against aggression, and a symbol of Islamic solidarity.

But the pact's first real test has revealed its fragility. The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, particularly the alarm over Mecca itself, have exposed the gulf between rhetoric and reality.

The pact's Nato-style clause, that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all, was meant to inspire confidence. Yet when Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence issued an emergency alert warning of a possible aerial strike on Mecca, the alliance was nowhere to be s...