DUBAI (Dispatches) — A prominent Emirati political analyst and former aide to UAE President Muhammad bin Zayed has ignited a firestorm of criticism after disparaging Pakistan’s economic and social standing while questioning its role in a new regional security arrangement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla wrote on X that it was “one of the paradoxes of time” that a country where “a quarter of its population is poor” and “a third” is illiterate could “opportunistically” position itself to defend a nation among the world’s 20 largest economies.
The former presidential aide referred to Pakistan’s estimated national income of $400 billion and its nuclear arsenal of 170 bombs, arguing that the country had endured decades of internal instability and corrupt military rule while presenting its nuclear capability as its principal strategic qualification.
Abdulla’s remarks, which have garnered over 1 million views, drew sharp rebukes from social media users who pointed to the nearly 1.6 million Pakistanis residing in the UAE who remain a major source of remittance flows to their homeland.
“Comparing poverty and the size of the economy with the political stance is misleading,” one user commented. 
“Pakistan is a sovereign state with interests and alliances, and its eligibility for international positions is not conditioned on its wealth. Moreover, reducing its qualifications to nuclear weapons ignores its demographic and geopolitical weight.”
Others highlighted contradictions in Abdulla’s stances, posting his older remarks including one in which he wrote: “Damn every Persian Gulf Arab tweep who calls for normalization with the Israeli enemy.”
Another user recalled Abdulla’s 2015 comments during Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, when he urged Persian Gulf diplomacy to secure Pakistan’s participation in Operation Decisive Storm.
Abdulla’s intervention appears rooted in anxieties over the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, signed on September 17, 2025, which treats any act of aggression against one as an act against both. The pact, part of the broader Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Turkey, has triggered unease in the UAE.
“The recent exchange points to a deeper rift as relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia have soured over Abu Dhabi’s support for southern Yemeni separatist groups,” analysts note.
Abdulaziz Altwaijri, former head of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, responded to Abdulla’s post on X by stating: “It seems that the Mecca Agreement syndrome has left you dizzy,” adding: “Anyone who betrays and collaborates with the Zionists will never find security.”
Analysts see the Mecca agreement as a counter to UAE-Israel military cooperation, which remains unpopular outside Israeli and American circles. 
The UAE-Saudi rivalry is also evident in debates over who was left out of the pact. Saudi Arabia reportedly opposed Egypt’s entry, citing growing unease over Cairo’s alignment with Abu Dhabi.
Riyadh views several Emirati policies as running against its interests, including UAE involvement in Somaliland, its strategic relationship with Israel, support for Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and backing of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.