ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defense Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday described the country’s joint security pact with Saudi Arabia as a “historic” milestone, telling a gathering of religious scholars that Pakistan and the kingdom share a deep strategic relationship.

Signed in September, the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement has solidified decades of Saudi–Pakistan defense cooperation, covering intelligence-sharing, counterterrorism and regional stability.

The two nations have long coordinated on defense matters, with Pakistani military personnel deployed in the Kingdom.

“The defense agreement [with Saudi Arabia] is historic,” he said in an address to the conference in the federal capital.

The top military commander said Pakistan regarded its connection with the Kingdom as unique.

“Among all Muslim countries, Allah has given Pakistan the honor of helping safeguard the Haramain,” he continued, referring to the two holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madinah.

Munir used his speech to warn against extremism, saying that under the Islamic framework, only the state could declare jihad, a pointed reference to groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which claims to act in the name of religion while carrying out attacks on civilians and security forces.

“When nations abandon knowledge and the pen, disorder takes hold,” he said, urging the religious scholars to help keep society unified and to “broaden the nation’s vision.”

Munir also criticized India, describing “terrorism” as “India’s habit, not Pakistan’s.”

His remarks came months after a four-day military confrontation in May, during which the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged artillery and missile fire and deployed drones and fighter jets.

India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir before launching a missile attack. Islamabad denied involvement and called for an international probe.

Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian fighter jets before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect.

“We do not hide when confronting the enemy,” Munir said. “We challenge openly.”