ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday clarified its new strategic security pact with Saudi Arabia is purely defensive and not aimed at any third country.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) in Riyadh, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both. The deal, sealed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit, is meant to enhance joint deterrence and deepen decades of military and security cooperation.
Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at Al Yamamah Palace, where the two leaders, joined by senior ministers and military officials, reviewed what Sharif’s office described as a “historic and strategic” partnership and discussed regional developments.
“The Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement formalizes decades-old and robust defense partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” foreign office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said at his weekly press briefing. “It is defensive in nature and not directed against any third country. It will contribute to regional peace, security and stability.”
Khan noted that since the 1960s, defense cooperation has been a principal pillar of the two countries’ “all-encompassing bilateral relations.”
Asked if the pact targets Israel or India, he said: “The statement issued by the two countries is self-explanatory, and I have also provided the broader context. Any misplaced attribution or speculation of hypothetical scenarios is unwarranted.”
Highlighting the “special relationship” between the nations, he said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoyed enduring and multifaceted relationship.
“The leadership of the two countries shares the common vision to take it to new heights,” he added. “The relationship lives in the hearts of the people of the two countries.”
Khan said Pakistanis hold deep affection for Saudi Arabia — the land of Makkah and Madinah — and regard the royal family highly for safeguarding Islam’s holiest sites.
Responding to another question, he pointed to the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC), established in 2019, as the key platform for economic collaboration.
The council, he said, aims to institutionalize and fast-track decision-making and implementation across agreed areas of cooperation.
“Pakistan wants to further deepen economic cooperation with the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia in all areas,” he added.
