Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact

New Delhi, which fought a brief conflict with Islamabad in May, has said it will study the implications of the move

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan have signed a formal mutual defense pact, further strengthening the decades-long security partnership between the two Muslim nations.

The move comes shortly after an extraordinary joint session between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in which member states condemned last week’s Israeli attack on the Qatari capital, Doha, which targeted officials from Palestinian armed group Hamas. According to media reports, the incident caused concern among Gulf nations about the ability of the US to guarantee their security.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the defense pact between their countries in Riyadh on Wednesday.

"This agreement, which reflects the shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security and to achieving security and peace in the region and the world, aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression,” the joint statement by Riyadh and Islamabad read.

According to the deal, any attack against Saudi Arabia or Pakistan “shall be considered an aggression against both,” it stressed.

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India, which fought a four-day military conflict with Pakistan in May following a terrorist attack on tourists in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said it will “study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability.”

New Delhi was aware of security ties between Riyadh and Islamabad and knew that a defense pact between them had been in the works, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X.

A senior Saudi official told Reuters that the deal with Pakistan was “a culmination of years of discussions. This is not a response to specific countries or specific events.”

Saudi Arabia’s relationship with India “is more robust than it has ever been. We will continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace whichever way we can,” he added.

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Military ties between Riyadh and Islamabad date back more than half a century, with thousands of Saudi officers receiving training in Pakistan. The defense partnership remains active through training programs and joint exercises.