Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Sign Defense Pact In Warning To Israel (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ISLAMABAD/RIYADH (Worthy News) – Nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have not ruled out seeking atomic weapons if under threat, have signed a defense pact pledging that any attack on either nation would be viewed as an attack on both.

The “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” between the two Islamic countries was inked during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the kingdom, according to joint remarks following his talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Wednesday’s announcement came amid rising tensions in the region after a September 9 Israeli airstrike struck Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization, in Qatar’s capital, Doha, killing six people.

Mohammed bin Salman described the strike, which targeted Hamas leaders involved in ceasefire negotiations, as “brutal aggression” that required “Arab, Islamic, and international action.”

The agreement states that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” said Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Asked whether Pakistan would be obliged to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella under the pact, an official stressed: “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means.”

DEFENSE COOPERATION

The pact “aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.” Pakistan maintains close ties with Saudi Arabia, a key oil supplier to Islamabad. Sharif traveled to Saudi Arabia at the crown prince’s invitation, the statement said.

Pakistan’s Shaheen-III ballistic missile delivery system has a range of 2,750 km, putting much of the Middle East within reach.

The agreement comes four months after Pakistan and India traded air, missile, and drone strikes in a May skirmish that brought the neighboring nuclear powers to the brink of an all-out war.

Saudi officials emphasized the new pact was not aimed at undermining ties with India. A senior Saudi source told reporters the kingdom’s relationship with New Delhi is “more robust than it has ever been,” noting that while defense cooperation with Pakistan deepens, Saudi Arabia continues strategic, economic, and military cooperation with India, including joint naval drills and counterterrorism efforts.

Riyadh had also been hoping to seal a defense pact with the United States and cooperate with Washington’s nuclear program as part of a grand deal that would have led to normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.

ISRAEL-GAZA WAR

However, those plans were upended after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war and conflict across the wider region.

Saudi Arabia has become increasingly outraged by Israel’s 23-month-long war in Gaza and the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Mohammed bin Salman accuses Israel of committing genocide and has made clear that normalization is off the table unless Netanyahu ends the conflict and moves toward establishing a Palestinian state.

He previously warned in 2018, and repeated since, that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would have no choice but to follow suit. That threat continues to hang over the kingdom’s strategic planning.

Currently, Saudi Arabia has a nuclear program that it insists is civilian and focused on energy. It remains a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for global nuclear arms control as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

SHIFTING ALLIANCES

Saudi Arabia has also maintained warm relations with the Trump administration, pledging over $600 billion in investments and trade deals with the U.S. during Trump’s recent Gulf tour, which included a stop in Riyadh.

However, analysts note Riyadh is unlikely to secure the defense treaty with Washington it seeks as long as normalization with Israel remains blocked.

While Gulf states remain dependent on the U.S. as their primary defense partner, they are also looking to diversify defense ties — a trend accelerated by the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha.

Pakistan’s inclusion in a formal defense pact with Riyadh highlights that shift, with both countries committing themselves to collective deterrence in an increasingly volatile region.

Israel remains the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, although it has never officially acknowledged its nuclear weapons program.

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