For the Maldives, President Mohamed Muizzu’s expanding engagement with Pakistan has become a delicate diplomatic balancing act. Opposition leaders, including former president Mohammed Nasheed, have warned that his outreach to Islamabad could strain relations with India, the island nation’s closest neighbour.
The first visit by a Maldivian president to Pakistan in 11 years has sparked a political debate over Male’s foreign policy. Opposition leaders have questioned whether Muizzu, who rose to power on an anti-India platform, is putting the country’s security and longstanding partnership with New Delhi at risk.
The strongest criticism came from Nasheed, chairperson of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Speaking at a press conference in Addu City on October 25, Nasheed accused Muizzu of recklessly drawing the Maldives into the longstanding tensions between India and Pakistan.
Nasheed said that small nations, particularly the Maldives, face considerable risks and accused the president of visiting Pakistan without adequately considering the consequences, once again placing the country in the middle of the India-Pakistan dispute, according to reports by the Maldivian news outlet Sun Online.
The former president issued a particularly strong warning, saying that the Maldives could face serious repercussions if India believed its security was being undermined. He argued that the country could pay a heavy price if New Delhi viewed its growing engagement with Islamabad as a security concern.
Other Maldivian opposition leaders also questioned and criticised Muizzu’s Pakistan visit. Former foreign minister Abdulla Shahid, who is seeking to lead the opposition MDP ahead of the 2028 presidential election, accused Muizzu of preparing to revive an anti-India campaign similar to the one he pursued in 2023.
Former president Abdulla Yameen questioned Pakistan’s decision to award Muizzu an honorary doctorate during the visit. These reactions reflect a growing domestic debate about the strategic consequences of Male’s expanding relationship with Islamabad.
Nasheed’s comments highlight the central dilemma surrounding Muizzu’s Pakistan trip. Although the Maldives has the right to develop relations with several countries, its geographical position and security dependence on India mean that defence and maritime cooperation can have implications extending beyond bilateral ties.
MUIZZU’S PAK VISIT: 20 MoUs AND DEFENCE PACTS
Muizzu’s three-day visit to Pakistan, held from October 20 to 22, was the first by a Maldivian president in 11 years. The trip coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and resulted in 20 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) covering healthcare, education, trade, agriculture, cybersecurity, defence and maritime security.
According to an official statement from the Maldives President’s Office, the agreements were designed to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The two countries also agreed to work towards raising bilateral trade from approximately $13 million to $200 million within two years.
However, the security aspects of the visit attracted the most attention. Muizzu met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s army chief and chief of defence forces. Their discussions covered regional security, defence cooperation and military training.
WHAT INDIA SAID ON MUIZZU’S PAKISTAN VISIT
India responded cautiously to Muizzu’s diplomatic outreach to Islamabad. On October 24, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was closely monitoring the agreements and would take appropriate action if necessary.
Jaiswal said India had taken note of reports about agreements signed between the two countries and was following developments closely, adding that any necessary steps would be taken if required.
India’s response highlighted New Delhi’s attention to developments in the Maldives, which lies near important Indian Ocean shipping routes and within India’s immediate maritime neighbourhood.
THE MALDIVES CANNOT AFFORD CRISIS: EX-DEFENCE MINISTER WARNS
Opposition leaders’ concerns extend beyond the number of agreements signed between Male and Islamabad. Their main question is whether the Maldives can strengthen its relationship with Pakistan without creating uncertainty in its ties with India.
In an opinion article published by the Maldivian news outlet Adhadhu on October 25, former defence minister Mariya Ahmed Didi argued that the security agreements required careful examination given the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Didi acknowledged that cooperation with Pakistan in healthcare, education, trade, agriculture and tourism could create meaningful opportunities. She also emphasised that the Maldives was entitled to maintain independent relations with both countries.
She wrote that maintaining relationships with India and Pakistan was not mutually exclusive.
However, Didi warned that diplomatic engagements could be interpreted as signs of a broader strategic alignment, even if that was not the government’s intention.
She cautioned that any escalation between India and Pakistan could put pressure on Male over its diplomatic positions, security partnerships, intelligence ties and the use of its facilities and capabilities.
Didi was not arguing that the Maldives should avoid engaging with Pakistan. Instead, she questioned whether Muizzu’s government had sufficiently evaluated the long-term implications of its security commitments and established adequate safeguards to protect the country’s strategic independence.
Her concerns also reflect the Maldives’ economic vulnerabilities. Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange, while the country relies heavily on imports. Prolonged regional instability affecting transport links, tourist confidence or trade could have serious consequences for ordinary Maldivians.
For a small island nation, maintaining peace and stable relations with neighbouring countries is therefore both a security concern and an economic necessity.
PAK RAISES KASHMIR ISSUE, MUIZZU KEEPS MUM, CALLS FOR SAARC REVIVAL
The diplomatic importance of Muizzu’s visit was heightened by Pakistan’s decision to raise its disputes with India during discussions.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed Islamabad’s position on Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) to Muizzu.
Pakistan has opposed India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance in April 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack. Muizzu did not publicly support Pakistan’s positions on Kashmir or the treaty during the visit.
However, he called for reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), whose last summit took place in Kathmandu in 2014. The grouping’s 19th summit, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2016, was cancelled following the Uri terror attack that year.
Muizzu said the Maldives was prepared to work with member countries to organise another summit. The proposal comes amid a prolonged standoff between India and Pakistan that has stalled the organisation’s activities.
India, meanwhile, has maintained that regional cooperation cannot progress without an environment free from terrorism. Reviving Saarc would therefore require resolving the political differences that have prevented its summits from being held.
MUIZZU’S POLITICAL JOURNEY: FROM ‘INDIA OUT’ TO A DELICATE BALANCING ACT
Muizzu’s engagement with Pakistan has drawn particular attention because of his political history with India.
He led the People’s National Congress (PNC) to power in 2023 on an “India Out” platform, demanding the withdrawal of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives. In May 2024, Indian personnel responsible for operating and maintaining aircraft used for humanitarian assistance and medical evacuations were replaced by civilian technical staff.
Since then, Muizzu has attempted to rebuild relations with New Delhi. This included hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit to the Maldives in July 2025.
Former Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid, who is seeking the MDP leadership ahead of the 2028 presidential election, has accused Muizzu of once again moving towards an anti-India position. In an interview with The Hindu, Shahid suggested that the president might revive anti-India rhetoric as the next election approaches.
Shahid alleged that Muizzu was again making India a political issue because his government had failed to fulfil its promises.
However, these remain assessments made by opposition leaders and do not establish that Muizzu intends to revive his earlier campaign or align the Maldives against India. His government continues to describe its foreign policy as “Maldives First”, emphasising engagement with multiple international partners.
The challenge lies in turning that principle into a workable diplomatic balance. The Maldives can maintain ties with Pakistan while preserving its important partnership with India, but defence and maritime agreements require clarity about their scope and potential consequences.
