Pakistan’s Cold Shoulder to Iran Proves the Ummah Is a Poetic Illusion

Amana Begam

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and effectively the most powerful man in the country, was on a five-day official visit to the United States. The visit aimed to strengthen military and strategic ties between Islamabad and Washington. But let’s not kid ourselves—timing is everything.With tensions flaring in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel, speculation is running wild. Did Pakistan’s de facto ruler visit Washington just to exchange handshakes and sound bites, or is there something bigger at play? Was he there to pick a side? Speaking to reporters after a high-level interaction, US President Donald Trump didn’t leave much to the imagination either. “We spoke about the Iran-Israel issue. Pakistan understands Iran better than us — they’re a key player in regional peace,” he said. And just like that, Pakistan’s position is no longer neutral geography.For a country that never misses a chance to claim it’s the guardian of the Ummah (global Muslim community), Pakistan’s silence right now is deafening. As Israel pounds Iran, where is the self-declared sword of Islamic brotherhood? Their army chief was on a five-day charm offensive in Washington — shaking hands, posing for cameras, sharing polite smiles with the same superpower arming Israel to the teeth. Isn’t Pakistan betraying the Ummah by quietly playing a crucial role for the Israel-West alliance?There is a possibility that Asim Munir will do what Pakistan has often done in such moments—remain silent, walking the tightrope between pragmatism and posturing, and quietly abandoning the cause of the Ummah and the idea of Islamic brotherhood. Because let’s be honest, the same country that loudly invokes Muslim unity on Kashmir or Palestine suddenly goes quiet when it comes to Iran or Uyghur Muslims in China. When realpolitik knocks, slogans about Ummah often step aside.During the recent India-Pakistan conflict, Turkey sided with Pakistan, Iran offered to mediate, while Saudi Arabia sent its Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, to both Islamabad and New Delhi. Iran, in fact, was the first country to recognise Pakistan after its creation. And when Pakistan conducted its underground nuclear tests in 1998 and faced immediate Western sanctions, it didn’t stand alone. The response from the Islamic world was swift and clear. Within days, envoys from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar — even Iran — landed in Islamabad to offer not just words, but real support, economic and moral. All in the name of shared faith and the pride of a Muslim nation asserting its sovereignty.But now, as Iran faces attacks and uncertainty, Pakistan’s stance feels unusually cold. Pakistani officials quickly clarified that they never promised nuclear support to Iran. It has sealed its borders with Iran indefinitely and shut its airspace.So naturally, questions will be raised. What is left of the idea of Muslim unity worldwide? All the talk of Ummah – was it just a sermon for Friday prayers and headlines? All that chest-thumping about Islamic unity — does it dissolve every time there’s a price to pay, and only valid when Pakistan is the one asking for support?Anyone with even the slightest grasp of geopolitics can see through the game. Pakistan’s elite have long used Islam and the idea of Ummah not as a sacred bond, but as a convenient tool — to serve their own interests, to freeload off the goodwill of Muslim nations, to gather diplomatic sympathy when needed and at the same time, to fuel radicalisation that ruins innocent lives across borders. The irony reaches a whole new level when they try to pose as the voice of Indian Muslims — invoking shared faith as if it’s a political strategy, not a matter of conscience. This is not solidarity; it is opportunism wrapped in religious rhetoric.The truth is, Pakistan couldn’t even accept the Muslims who migrated there and chose it as their homeland. To this day, they are called “Muhajir (outsiders)” in a country they helped build. And while the vast majority of Indian Muslims have rejected Pakistan’s interference—including conservative leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi—there are still some who, in the name of Ummah, hold on to the illusion.They need to open their eyes to the hypocrisy. The idea of Ummah may sound poetic, but reality is far more grounded. Nations are defined by borders, by policies, by sovereignty. Your future lies with the country you belong to, not with some imagined brotherhood across the border. No fantasy of religious unity can protect you from geopolitical truth. The sooner that’s accepted, the better it is for everyone.