Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a new mutual defence agreement. The deal says that if either country is attacked, the other will treat it as an attack on itself. The agreement was signed in Riyadh by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with both countries’ top defence leaders present.
This pact comes just after Israel’s strike on Qatar earlier this month. Analysts say this is the first strong defence move by a Gulf Arab country since that attack.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan already share close economic, religious, and security ties. Pakistan has in the past promised to help protect the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Some experts believe that Saudi Arabia could one day be protected by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella, especially because of concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Pakistan built its own nuclear weapons to counter India, and both countries are considered nuclear powers today. India said it will “study the implications” of this new Saudi-Pakistan pact.
The United States, which has long been a security partner for Gulf states, has not yet commented on the agreement. Israel also has not reacted publicly.
Saudi Arabia has been working to develop a civilian nuclear programme with U.S. support, but Crown Prince Mohammed has said before that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would also pursue them.
For now, this pact shows the kingdom and Pakistan want to strengthen their defence ties and present a joint deterrence against any possible attack.
-Peace News Desk