Habib Siddiqui

  The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement , signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye on August 7, has quickly invited comparisons with an “Islamic NATO.” Initially, that analogy appeared premature. But subsequent statements by senior Pakistani and Turkish officials have made it harder to dismiss altogether. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has advocated a NATO -like collective-defence arrangement among Muslim countries. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has gone further, describing the Makkah agreement as technically comparable to NATO’s Article 5 and discussing plans for a ministerial mechanism and permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has been more circumspect, avoiding an official characterisation of the pact as another NATO. This difference matters. While the three governments broadly agree on strengthening collective deterrence, they may not yet attach identical political or institutional meaning to the arrangement. The NATO analogy is therefore revealing b...

  Even if he had sought it out, it seems unlikely that Howard Zinn ever thought he would achieve the fame that he came his way.  This is one of the essential lessons taken from the new biography of Zinn by Dave Zirin titled The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn .   Zirin, who spent time on the road with Zinn several years ago staging public conversations about history, imperialism, and more, provides an overview worthy of the energy which defined Zinn’s life.  Naturally enough, the book begins with a survey of Zinn’s childhood as a child of immigrants living in a section of Brooklyn crowded with newcomers to the United States, most if not all of them working class and with little income beyond the meager wages paid by their employers.  Zinn, while correctly perceiving the existence of economic and social inequality around him as the result of the political and economic system in place, pursued his dreams as best as he could. Like many young m...

Monday, 10 Aug 2026 | 4:37 PM MYT DHAKA: Malaysia’s announcement that Myanmar has agreed to receive 5,000 refugees currently living in the country has been presented as a diplomatic breakthrough in one of Southeast Asia’s longest-running humanitarian crises. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated on July 29 that the agreement was made possible through constructive engagement with Myanmar. So far, the proposal has been articulated almost entirely by Kuala Lumpur. Myanmar authorities have yet to publicly clarify the scope of the agreement, the legal status of returnees or the conditions they would face upon arrival. The unanswered questions are fundamental. Will returnees regain citizenship and enjoy freedom of movement, access to education, health care and livelihoods? Who will guarantee their protection from discrimination, arbitrary detention or renewed violence? The issue is not whether the Rohingya should eventually return to Myanmar. Safe, voluntary and dignified return remains the pr...