My last week’s article titled “It’s Time for a Non-Aggressive Military Alliance”, published in Daily Times on August 5, 2026, in which I had proposed the formation of “NAGMA ‘, has received mixed reviews. This is the beauty of social sciences that we respect each other’s opinions and do not outright reject any new proposal, especially if it is aimed at attaining, maintaining, and sustaining peace. However, most people have opposed the inclusion of Iran in NAGMA. My argument is that you cannot change your neighbours and the geography of the region. We have seen Iran’s isolation of 47 years and can see how it has developed itself militarily without even the best intelligence agencies around the world knowing about it. Therefore, it is necessary that each regional state is a part of the greater alliance so that no one is building monsters without the knowledge of the others.
Also, almost every day there are defence agreements signed by Muslim states bilaterally or multilaterally, whereas a joint large alliance like NAGMA can be far more effective in all domains like deterrence and diplomacy. NAGMA, being a Non-Aggressive Military Alliance, will not only build Confidence, Communication, and Connectivity, among the member states but also deter opponents from any interference and intervention in the internal affairs of the member states.
We have seen Iran’s isolation of 47 years and can see how it has developed itself militarily without even the best intelligence agencies around the world knowing about it.
In my opinion, this unnecessary war, which has the potential to expand beyond borders and regions, must stop now, and diplomacy must be given a chance to impress upon the need to attain, maintain, and sustain peace in the region and beyond.
It is necessary to understand that only Muslims are losing their lives in this war, no matter which geographical state they come from. Also, only Muslim states are paying to kill each other and getting killed by extra-regional forces.
I have long stated that if you leave the people of the Middle East (I don’t want to use this term but unfortunately it remains part of the strategic literature for now at least), and West Asia, they will solve their problems in a more plausible manner because they have lived a long time together. Muslims, Jews, and Christians have lived together ever since the Abrahamic religions took shape in the areas comprising now the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia. There are numerous commonalities among them, including language, culture, and nearly all elements of traditions.
Moreover, there is no rocket science in understanding who benefits the most from the infighting among Muslims. Therefore, it is necessary that efforts must be made to minimise the extra-regional forces from the security architecture of the regional countries so that they can truly understand the dynamics of the threat faced and the response needed.
I am confident that the regional states are led by very competent and able leadership across all Muslim states, and they can come up with doable solutions which are preferable and acceptable to all the member and regional states.
It pains me to write that the poorest of the poor must leave empty-handed from the war-ridden areas and take refuge in relatively peaceful states, and the way they are treated is sometimes highly distressful and inhuman. But one cannot blame those states too because they may have their own problems due to the influx of immigrants.
Therefore, it is necessary that the ruling elite in the Muslim states realise that it is only their own people who are often faced with the dilemma of leaving their homes with pots on the firewood and children in the schools to either board a sinking boat in the Mediterranean or the barbed borders. And, if the new place accepts them somehow, it will take generations to recover from the trauma and the financial woes that they may have gone through.
There can never be another land that will absorb the immigrants in a manner our own land can, provided our own ruling elite considers it as important for the affected people.
Remember, every war and conflict ends up with some Treaty, and Agreement, and rebuilding takes place immediately after the war ends; however, the lives lost are never recovered.
Therefore, do whatever you can, but stop wars across the globe, and do not let the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) fool you with selling their arms and equipment to get your own people killed. We have long prepared for wars and conflicts; let’s try and prepare for peace, at least for now, and for a few decades, to understand how peace can bring progress and prosperity to the war-ridden states and the region.
The writer of this article has authored four international books: Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan, South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace, Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War, and Diplomacy and Deterrence.
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