Graphic by Asyrique Thevendran/TheGazelle

Tensions are escalating in the Gulf as parliamentary opposition postpones the vote for a Gulf-wide Security Pact. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have withdrawn envoys from Qatar due to an alleged lack of consistency in foreign policy.

 “This [decision] has now occupied the news and conversation in the Gulf Cooperation Council and the world,” wrote NYU Abu Dhabi student Sarah Al Shamlan, who is from Qatar.

In November 2012, Interior Ministers of the GCC met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to sign a security pact designed to enhance cooperation between member states on issues concerning terrorism, dissension and organized crime. The pact states that cooperation between nations must occur in allowance with each nation's constitution. It urges officials to pursue criminals regardless of nationality and release them to other member states for prosecution if the need arises. The pact also discourages member states from interfering in each other's affairs and allows for the exchange of their citizens' personal information for security purposes.

Last week, this pact was supposed to be ratified. However, the Kuwaiti parliament agreed to postpone the ratification due to discussions within the government of the pact's compliance with the country's constitution. Lawmakers called for the preparation of a comprehensive legal study of the agreement and said it will be reviewed in October, when the next parliamentary term starts. Those against the pact focus on the fact that the Kuwaiti constitution forbids the extradition of nationals. They also question the degree to which human rights and individual freedoms would be compromised by the sharing of citizens’ information with other GCC countries. Kuwaiti opposition to the pact is not surprising, as Kuwait has opposed the agreement since its inception in the ‘80s.

On March 5, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain withdrew their envoys from Qatar in an unexpected diplomatic offensive. The withdrawal was a protest against Qatar’s continued endorsement of terrorist and Islamist organizations despite promises to cease supporting groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. The three countries released a statement detailing their decision.

“Attempts were made to convince Qatar of the great importance of taking the necessary measures to put the … agreement into effect and agree on a mechanism to monitor its implementation,” the statement reads. “However, all these efforts unfortunately did not result in the approval of Qatar to adhere to these procedures.”

Egypt applauded the decision and announced that it does not plan to send its ambassadors back to Doha. On their end, however, Qatari authorities said they will not be pulling out their ambassadors from the fellow Gulf states. Moreover, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar’s recently-appointed Emir, has insisted that the country will not take any instructions regarding its foreign policy. On Friday, Saudi Arabia included the Muslim Brotherhood alongside other groups in Syria and Yemen in its list of terrorist organizations. In the face of such tension, Kuwait’s ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, has offered to mediate between the implicated states.

“I believe that the GCC is strong and it will get [through] this issue, and the region will no longer suffer from diplomatic tension,” wrote Shalman. “Moreover, this does not mean that the GCC is now a council that is broken; the GCC will always remain a strong leading union, which unites all members of the Gulf region.”

The official statement also ended on a similarly hopeful note.