The kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic republic of Pakistan has signed a defense agreement declaring that “an attack on one will considered as aggression against both” and will both act to militarily to depends themselves.
The kingdom has long had close economic, religious and security ties to Pakistan, including reportedly providing funding for Islamabad’s nuclear weapons program as it developed.
Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif signed the agreement on behalf of the two nations.
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Pakistani diplomats and security analyst from the kingdom believed in at least one case — have suggested over the years that Saudi Arabia could be included under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella, particularly as tensions have risen over Iran’s atomic program.
The agreement signing ceremony at the Royal Court in Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh was witnessed by senior officials from Saudi Arabia, the custodian of two of Islam’s holiest sites, alongside representatives from Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only official nuclear power state.
The deal comes at a critical moment when the middle-east region is on the brink of war.
Regional politics have been upended by two years of Israeli genocide in Gaza and aggressions on other countries — including strikes on neighbouring states – capped by last week’s Israeli attack on Doha, Qatar’s capital, which borders Saudi Arabia.
But it also comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, after a short but intense conflict in May in which they struck each other’s military bases over four days, taking South Asia to the brink of a full-fledged war between nuclear-armed neighbours.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the agreement with Saudi Arabia reflects the “shared commitment” of both nations to strengthen security and promote regional peace, while also pledging to “strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression”.
It stated that “The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”