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 Submitted by 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. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz…
An Emirati academic's tweet criticizing Pakistan's economic and social indicators has sparked online backlash, revealing unease within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding a recent defense agreement with Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Former UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed's aide, Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, mocked Pakistan's "poverty, illiteracy" and nuclear arsenal, expressing surprise at the country's willingness to defend a nation among the 20 largest economies in the world.
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, signed a year prior, treats any aggression against one as an attack on both.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement involving Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia has raised concerns in the UAE, where nearly 1.6 million Pakistanis live and contribute significantly to remittance flows. Some users pointed out contradictions in Abdulla's stance on Pakistan, Israel, and the UAE's foreign policy. Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri, a former head of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco), also responded to Abdulla's tweet, suggesting that the UAE's ties with Israel could undermine the Mecca pact's credibility.
Analysts view the Mecca defence pact as a countermeasure to the UAE-Israel military cooperation, which remains unpopular outside Israeli and American circles.
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