Shankar Kumar

As Pakistan struggles with a severe credibility crisis, exacerbated by revelations of a deep and troubling nexus between the country’s military and terrorist organisations--it finds itself increasingly inept in coping with India’s successful diplomatic offensive. It has led to Pakistan’s isolation, even among leading Islamic nations, many of which have voiced their support for New Delhi’s stand against terrorism.

However, what is particularly hurting Pakistan is that even fellow members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have chosen to align with India, despite it not being a member of the group. Malaysia reportedly turned a deaf ear to Pakistan’s request to cancel all 10 outreach programmes by India’s all-party delegation in Kuala Lumpur.

Even as Islamabad reportedly played a religious card, Malaysia overlooked Pakistan’s plea and gave a go-ahead to the Indian delegation to continue with its outreach programmes in the Southeast Asian country. This speaks volumes of Pakistan’s credibility even among the OIC. 

GCC countries’ support to India

Earlier, the UAE, despite being Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US, took no time to distinguish between chalk and cheese when it came to positioning the Gulf country in the fight against terrorism. It backed India’s right to self-defense through ‘Operation Sindoor.’

Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence Affairs, Interior & Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federal National Council of the UAE reaffirmed his country’s support for India in the fight against terrorism while terming it as a global threat. “Terrorism is a threat not just to a single nation or region, but it is a global threat,” Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi said while interacting with members of the all-party Indian delegation in Abu Dhabi on May 22.

Like the UAE, Qatar has a zero-tolerance stance against terrorism. This commitment of the Gulf country was above board when Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani made a telephonic call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 6 and expressed his country’s full support to India in its fight against terrorism and all its actions to bring the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terrorist attack to justice.

This unequivocal support to India from Qatar signalled Doha’s firm stance against terrorism and its alignment with global efforts to combat it. Incidentally, on the same day the Amir of Qatar held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Modi, a Pakistani delegation led by the country’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was in Doha, seeking Qatar’s support against India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

According to media reports, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, during his meeting with the visiting Pakistani Interior Minister, instead emphasized the importance of diplomatic efforts to reduce regional tensions. “We support a policy of de-escalation in the region,” Qatar’s Prime Minister said, hinting clearly that Doha will not back Islamabad in its efforts to target India.

Likewise, Bahrain expressed clear disappointment that dastardly acts of terrorism continue in the world. In the aftermath of the killing of 26 people in Pahalgam on April 22, while the Gulf country reiterated its “firm stance in rejecting crimes of violence and terrorism that aim to terrorize innocent civilians,” it left Pakistan in no doubt with its stand that it was fully committed to combating extremism and terrorism at the international level.

Bahrain, which enjoys very warm bilateral relations with India, has signed and ratified numerous bilateral, regional, and international agreements, enhancing international legal cooperation in criminal matters related to terrorism and its financing.

On May 20, Bahrain along with Indonesia and Egypt thwarted Pakistan’s efforts to include a strong anti-India language on the Kashmir issue in the outcome document of the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Parliamentary Union in Jakarta.

This reflects Bahrain's nuanced understanding of the geopolitical dynamics of South Asia and refusal to be impressed by Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir. As Bahrain prepares to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2026–27 term, this stance underscores its commitment to a balanced and responsible foreign policy approach.

Saudi Arabia’s position is more explicit on terrorism. First, it strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, denouncing it as a heinous act of violence. Second, it assured New Delhi of its unwavering support to fight terrorism, a commitment it made during a three-day (May 27 to 29) visit of the all-party parliamentary delegation from India to Riyadh. It is seen as a significant strategic positioning by Riyadh, reflecting a growing alignment with India on counterterrorism and regional security issues.

Kuwait was the first Gulf country to issue an official statement condemning the Pahalgam terrorist attack.  Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya conveyed his country’s solidarity with India during his telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on April 30. Having faced brutal terror attacks, including those carried out by ISIS, and al- Qaeda, Kuwait considers terrorism as a menace that needs to be countered in all possible ways.

However, Oman hit Pakistan hard when in the background of the Pahalgam incident, it cleared its position on terrorism by stating that it rejected all forms of violence and terrorism, regardless of their causes and motives.

Change in Islamic country's stand towards terrorism after 26/11

It may not be an overstatement to say that there has been a marked shift in Islamic countries' stand on terrorism since the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. There is a common realization among the majority of Islamic nations that terrorism is a menace and there is a need to fight it.

This sentiment was reflected during the visit of the all-party Indian delegation to Jakarta in the last week of May. Both the Vice Chairperson of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Muhammad Husein Fadlulloh and the Chairperson of the Indonesia-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, Muhammad Rofiqi supported India’s zero-tolerance approach.

More importantly, KH Ulil Abshar Abdalla, MA, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, called for New Delhi and Jakarta to walk hand in hand in confronting the shared challenge of terrorism. Indonesia too faces challenges from terrorist groups like ISIS, Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia, and Jamaah Ansharut Daulah.

Although in the past few years, it has not witnessed any terror-related incident on its soil, it has a vast experience of facing the menace of terrorism. However, in 2022, the number of terror attacks in Indonesia was down 56% compared to the previous year, according to the Global Terrorism Index published in March 2023. Like India, Indonesia maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism.

Malaysia, another Southeast Asia Muslim-dominated country, strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack. African countries like Egypt and Algeria have backed India in its fight against terrorism. Moreover, to the chagrin of Pakistan, Egypt reaffirmed its full support for India in confronting all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining the country’s security and stability.

In the last 10 years, there has been a major shift in GCC and Muslim majority countries’ approach towards India. They increasingly see India as a tolerant and pluralistic nation, which is often subjected to violence and terrorism from across the border.

Silence of Islamic nations on India’s suspension of IWT

Yet what particularly serves as a reality check for Pakistan is the conspicuous silence of Islamic nations on India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Not a single Muslim-majority country stated support of Pakistan, underscoring its poor international image, which has largely been shaped by its close association with terrorist groups and its failure to distance itself from them.

As per the latest data from Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority, the South Asian country is currently facing an overall 21% shortage in water flows and 50% depletion in live storage capacity at the Mangla and Tarbela dams. While Mangla dam is built on the Jhelum River, Tarbela is on the Indus and both these dams are vital for irrigation in Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces.

As per data, the Mangla dam holds less than 50% of its capacity—2.7 million acre-feet (MAF) of water out of the total capacity of 5.9 MAF. On the other hand, Tarbela Dam also holds over 50% of its capacity---around 6MAF of the total capacity of 11.6 MAF. Given that New Delhi has decided to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, a reduced water supply from India will hurt Pakistan, as the Kharif season has begun.

Pakistan’s agriculture accounts for approximately 25% of its GDP and around 40% of the country’s workforce is involved in it. Thus the Indus Waters Treaty is crucial for its food security. Besides, many of its hydroelectric power plants like the Mangla, Tarbela, and Neelum-Jhelum lie on the Indus and Jhelum rivers.

For this, Pakistan should have acknowledged India’s generosity, as New Delhi allowed Islamabad to utilize 80% of the waters from the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers. Yet this gesture of cooperation and support of India has often been met with hostility, as seen in terms of Pakistan’s continued involvement in cross-border terrorism.

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This is why, except for Türkiye and Azerbaijan, no other Muslim-majority country today expresses sympathy for Pakistan, even when it plays the victim card.