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Abstract
The 41-nation Islamic Military Alliance led by Saudi Arabia was established in 2015 to fight against growing menace of extremism and terrorism across the Middle East and the associated regions. Though all states of alliance are part of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), yet the coalition is Sunni dominated and excludes 23 other members of the OIC including Iran, Iraq and Syria, causing the organization's effectiveness and credibility into question. The alliance is in its formative phase and it will take time to determine its scope, nature and capability. This paper will analyse the history and objectives for the formation of the alliance. It will also assess the role of the US and Pakistan, as well as evaluate the military strength, efficacy and challenges to the Islamic Military Alliance.
Keywords: IMA, Counter-terrorism, Islamic Alliance, Sectarian divide, ISIS, Muslim-NATO
Introduction
The 41-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), commonly referred to as Islamic Military Alliance (IMA) has been formed as a counter-terrorism military alliance by the Muslim countries. This alliance has been led by Saudi efforts to dispel and disrupt the growing menace of terrorism in the Middle East in the shape of ISIL and other terrorist groups.
The establishment of the group was first confirmed in a joint communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on December 15, 2015. The statement considers the commitments of the Islamic injunctions against aggression, the principles and objectives of the OIC to cooperate against terrorism and provisions of the UN Charter and other international conventions against terrorism to form counter-terror group known as IMA. the statement reads that countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Turkey, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Djibouti, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Gabon, Guinea, Palestine, Comoros, Qatar, Cote d'Ivoire, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Yemen "have decided to form a military alliance to fight against terrorism led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The headquarters of the alliance will be established in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism. The statement also read that there were ten more countries that have supported the formation of alliance (Joint Statement, 2015)....