In a development with profound strategic implications, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a formal mutual defence pact, institutionalising decades of close security ties at a time of escalating regional uncertainty. The agreement, sealed in Riyadh with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embracing, underscores the deepening convergence between the Gulf’s most influential monarchy and nuclear-armed Pakistan. Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was also present, highlighting the pact’s military weight.
The defence framework comes as Gulf Arab states grow increasingly wary of Washington’s reliability as a long-term security guarantor. Israel’s airstrikes in Doha last week, aimed at Hamas leaders engaged in ceasefire talks, further rattled regional capitals and intensified demands for new defence arrangements.
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Saudi officials insist the pact is not a reaction to any single event but rather a comprehensive effort to broaden joint deterrence and strengthen cooperation across all military domains. Pakistan, meanwhile, described the pact as a “shared commitment” to peace and security in both the region and beyond.
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Crucially, the agreement declares that aggression against either country will be treated as aggression against both, binding Riyadh and Islamabad into an unprecedented level of security interdependence.
