Center for International Strategic Studies

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐡 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye entered the Makkah Agreement with established military relationships and regular defence contacts. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have conducted several bilateral exercise series, including Al-Samsaam and Al-Kassa, focused on counterterrorism, urban operations, route clearance and counter-IED training. In November 2025, personnel from Pakistan’s Special Services Group and Saudi forces also conducted the Al Battar-II exercise in Tabuk.

- Their defence relationship is further supported by longstanding training programmes, military exchanges and high-level military contacts. Pakistan’s wider role in regional security is also reflected in the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), headquartered in Riyadh. Since 2017, the coalition has been led by former Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, a retired four-star general.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Syed Ali Abbas

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/the-makkah-agreement-and-a-new-model-of-regional-security/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 | 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

- Space technologies are being used as an important tool to tackle climate crises in the pre- and post-disaster management phases. This paper investigates the potential impact of Pakistan’s space programme renaissance on increasing national climate resilience. This study uses an exploratory research design and qualitative methods, based on both primary and secondary data that are thematically analysed. This study employs the theoretical lens of technological determinism, which argues that technological innovation acts as the principal driver of social, political, and environmental transformation. It finds that Pakistan’s expanding space based infrastructure has strengthened anticipatory climate governance, particularly through near-real-time flood mapping, NDMA early warning reports, and the SACRED-SUPARCO disaster portal.

- The integration of domestic satellite data along with international imagery has expanded spatial coverage of climate-vulnerable regions, though continued dependence on foreign data highlights a partial capability gap. Overall, while Pakistan’s technological capacity for climate monitoring has advanced considerably, institutional coordination and absorption capacity continue to shape the effectiveness of space-based contributions to climate resilience.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Areesha Manzoor

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/pakistans-space-renaissancea-pathway-to-climate-resilience/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫

The book is divided into three parts and nine chapters, framed by an introduction and a concluding chapter. The first part maps the changing course from a post-Cold War order to the current disorder. The author states that Western policies, ranging from the Iraq war to the 2008 financial crisis, eroded confidence in the liberal order, and the Ukrainian situation saw the further erosion of the order is due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also looks at the erosion of multilateral institutions and questions whether the international system, led by the United Nations (UN), is growing weaker due to an increase of regionalization, institutional proliferation, and lack of trust.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Amna Saqib

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/book-review-the-triangle-of-power-rebalancing-the-new-world-order/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎

- Islamabad and Riyadh had already signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement last year, and with the inclusion of Turkey, the bandwidth of the alliance has been widened, augmenting the collective strength of these three states into a formidable force in the region. At the heart of this tri-lateral defense agreement lies the complementary strength of Saudi’s capital, Turkiye’s technological advancement and Pakistan’s outstanding military power, placing collective defence at the centre of this tri-lateral arrangement.

- Though the Turkish Foreign Minister described the mechanism of the mutual defense agreement as technically comparable to Article 5 of NATO; however, there is no provision in this framework that automatically translates military commitment of the sort people often imagine when they think of “NATO”.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Nawal Nawaz

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/mecca-defense-pact-and-the-question-of-islamic-nato/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐨-𝐏𝐚𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉-𝟑𝟓 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧

The prospective transfer of the J-35 should instead be viewed in light of the evolution of the China–Pakistan strategic partnership. Initially, the partnership focused on military equipment sales; however, it now includes joint production projects, such as the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, Tughril-class frigates, and Hangoor-class conventional attack submarines. Through these projects, Beijing has also helped Pakistan strengthen its indigenous defense industrial capabilities. Beyond this, Pakistan’s acquisition of J-10 C multirole fighters, HQ-9 air defence systems, and PL-15 beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles points towards Islamabad’s operationlisation of an increasingly interoperable Chinese-origin military ecosystem.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Abdul Moiz Khan

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/sino-pak-strategic-partnership-and-the-questions-of-j-35-sales-to-pakistan/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐏 𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐚: 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧

- The article argues that the exercise is part of an attempt by the IAF to plug the loopholes exposed during Operation Sindoor, especially pertaining to the incursion of Pakistani drones deep into Indian Territory. This activity carries serious consequences for Pakistan, as it is linked to India’s attempt to establish a defensive shield against airborne objects, as evidenced by New Delhi’s pledge to operationalize Mission Sudarshan Chakra.

- As its name suggests, it is not the first edition but the third, conducted by the IAF using its rotary assets to take out drones since India launched Operation Sindoor last year. This was not a usual activity for the IAF but rather a novel attempt to test and validate new warfighting tactics, techniques, and procedures, with a central focus on shooting down slow-moving airborne targets. The exercise involved rotary-wing platforms from the IAF fleet, including Apache, Prachand, Mi-25/35P, Rudra, and Mi-17V-5.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Abdul Moiz Khan

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/exercise-rotor-clap-iii-and-mission-sudarshan-chakra-options-for-pakistan/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭, 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

- Commercialization of space has many security implications at the international level. Firstly, it has challenged states monopoly in outer space. Now, commercial actors play a consequential role in outer space politics. Secondly, there is a clear fusion of commercial and military space infrastructure. The most notable incident happened during Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. SpaceX deployed Starlink terminals within days, and the network quickly became a warfighting tool rather than a support service. Starlink provided imagery to Ukrainians that enabled battlefield communications, drone navigation, and artillery-targeting coordination. A Russian foreign ministry official threatened to attack commercial space systems like SpaceX and said that commercial satellite systems “may become a legitimate target for retaliation.”

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Areesha Manzoor

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/third-space-age-profit-power-and-the-perils-of-commercialization/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢-𝐔𝐒 𝐍𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭

- The US-Saudi peaceful nuclear deal comes at a time when the global nuclear order is already eroding. As the international arms control architecture has already been dismantled following the erosion of the New START and the failure of the NPT review conference to meet its stipulated goals, the recent US-KSA peaceful nuclear deal will not bode well considering the aspiration of several other countries to acquire the same technology, let alone e the nuclear program of Iran. Moreover, this recent civil nuclear arrangement veers off the gold standard nuclear arrangement with the UAE, allowing KSA to reprocess nuclear waste and enrich uranium.

- Though the US administration has imposed strict inspection measures and non-proliferation mechanisms, critics believe that the chances of weapons-grade enrichment cannot be ruled out. With this deal, the United States will assist KSA in establishing a civil nuclear program; however, analysts believe that this bilateral arrangement could set off a regional arms race.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Nawal Nawaz

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/how-saudi-us-nuclear-deal-ushers-nuclear-competition-in-the-middle-east/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐲

The IWT was agreed upon to take care of the equitable utilisation of the Indus system and not be affected by the larger political differences between India and Pakistan. But it has slowly become a subject of geopolitical importance than water allocation. The treaty formed the Permanent Indus Commission, a set-up that institutionalised regular communication between two adversarial states, and a framework for dispute resolution. These mechanisms offered a consistent forum for technical cooperation, even in times of armed conflict and diplomatic impasse, and thus shielded water cooperation from broader political conflicts.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Shahwana Binte Sohail

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://ciss.org.pk/from-water-sharing-to-strategic-stability-rethinking-the-future-of-the-indus-waters-treaty/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
🏛 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
📘 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒: 𝐟 | 𝐗 | 𝐢𝐧 | 📸 | 📱

𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 | 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

The CISS Monthly Perspective compiles articles published by CISS researchers. This edition brings together in-depth analyses produced throughout the month of July, offering valuable insights into regional and global strategic developments.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: https://ciss.org.pk/ciss-monthly-perspective-july-2026/
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🔗 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐩𝐤
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