As 2025 ends, Yemen’s anti-Houthi coalition collapses. The Saudi-UAE split leaves rival militias and foreign powers vying for control, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Qatar’s diplomacy has long been framed as pragmatic engagement, but its mediation model has increasingly blurred into political patronage. By hosting and legitimizing groups such as the Taliban and Hamas without enforceable conditions, Doha has helped normalize armed movements in international politics, weakening counterterrorism norms and reshaping regional stability.
The expulsion of Saudi-backed forces from Hadhramawt by UAE-aligned proxies signals the collapse of the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi alliance. In Yemen and Sudan, Abu Dhabi leverages non-state actors to secure ports, resources, and influence, while Riyadh prioritizes state stability and territorial consolidation. The result: a regional realignment where Gulf unity gives way to fierce intra-Gulf competition.
The Gulf’s air-power evolution is increasingly shaped by the fusion of advanced platforms with modern doctrine and faster decision cycles. As regional forces adapt to complex threat environments, partners like Pakistan, whose operational experience spans multiple domains, are becoming part of the broader conversation on future air-power thinking.
A new Gaza peace plan by Donald Trump has international backing and a surprising partial acceptance from Hamas. However, its journey toward lasting peace is threatened by critical deal-breakers and the unresolved core question of Palestinian political sovereignty.
A 20-point Gaza peace plan, initially hailed by a coalition of eight Muslim-majority nations, represented a rare moment of consensus in Middle East diplomacy. But this optimism was short-lived. Following a pivotal meeting between US and Israeli leaders, the plan was radically altered, transforming a multilateral framework into a security-centric arrangement that alienated its initial backers and triggered a crisis of trust. This is the story of how a potential breakthrough unraveled into a diplomatic failure.
After more than 65,000 deaths and Gaza’s collapse into famine and ruin, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Portugal have formally recognized Palestine. Their move breaks decades of Western policy consensus, signaling a potential turning point in the conflict, but with strict conditions and fierce Israeli opposition, the future remains deeply uncertain.
On September 9, 2025, Israel struck Doha during Hamas–U.S. ceasefire talks, killing Hamas operatives and a Qatari officer. The attack, codenamed “Fire Summit,” exposed Israel’s regional ambitions, jeopardized Qatar’s role as a mediator, and raised suspicions of U.S. complicity.
The Pakistan-Saudi Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement marks a historic shift from informal cooperation to a binding security alliance. Anchored in collective defense and deterrence, the pact reshapes Gulf security, challenges reliance on Western guarantees, and positions Islamabad as a formal net security provider in the region.
Pakistan has the military capacity to challenge Israel’s siege on Gaza, but not the strategic insulation of Iran. Its real role is not war posturing but disrupting the default — building structures, alliances, and deterrence frameworks that restore coherence to a fragmented Muslim world.