Sept. 21—Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Arabian Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement on Sept. 17. This brings together Pakistan as a nuclear power into the circle of Arab states, now getting more serious about challenging Israel’s Gaza genocide and sowing chaos throughout the region. With this pact, Israel is no longer the only nuclear power in the region.
“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 agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” a statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
When a journalist asked whether Pakistan would be obliged to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella under the pact, an unnamed Saudi official replied, “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means.”
During the signing, Prime Minister Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
While Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have enjoyed close political and military ties for decades, the timing of the agreement is significant. It occurred following both the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar on Sept. 9 and the joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit on Sept. 15. Both Pakistani and Saudi leaders attended that summit, and Sharif and Mohammed bin Salman also held a brief bilateral meeting. Also in the days before the signing of the pact, Iran dispatched Ali Larijani, who now serves as the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, to visit Saudi Arabia, where he was assured that the pact was not directed at Iran. China has been mediating a détente between Saudi Arabia and Iran since 2023.
The Saudi-Pakistani agreement comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has been closely cooperating with Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also taken the lead in urging for more unity and active measures to deal with the Israeli threat, and who for the first time by and Egyptian leader since 1977, called Israel an "enemy."
The pact is not directed only at Israel but also serves as a warning to the United States because of its failure to defend its Arab allies. After Washington failed to stop the Israeli attack in Qatar, of which Israel did not inform the U.S. in advance, where the U.S. has its largest military base in the region, the Gulf States’ confidence in any U.S. security guarantees has collapsed. Countries like Saudi Arabia, which the Trump administration considers an ally, are seeking security guarantees elsewhere.