On Wednesday, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked a new “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” that officially strengthens their security relations. This is a big step forward in both diplomacy and the military. The agreement, which was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, says that an attack on either country will henceforth be seen as an attack on both.
This deal comes at a time when tensions are high in the region and is a big step toward making a security cooperation that has existed informally for decades more formal. The Saudi Press Agency said the deal was an attempt “to improve aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.”
The signing of the agreement comes after a number of recent events that have changed the way the world works. An Israeli air attack on Doha, the capital of Qatar, just a few days ago killed six individuals, including a member of Qatar’s security services. The strike was aimed at Hamas commanders. The US, which has traditionally been a security guarantor for several Gulf governments, called the strike a unilateral attack that was not in line with US or Israeli interests.
Arab and Islamic countries have strongly condemned this Israeli operation, which led to a rare combined meeting of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to support Qatar. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said that Qatar and the US are close to signing their own increased defense cooperation pact. Many people perceive this as Washington’s way of calming Doha down after the Israeli strike.
The timing of the Pakistan-Saudi agreement is especially interesting in light of what has happened recently in South Asia. The deal was signed only a few months after a four-day war between India and Pakistan. India’s Operation Sindoor was a response to a terrorist incident in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22 that murdered 26 persons who were linked to Pakistan. The fighting stopped only when Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called his Indian counterpart and asked for a break.
A top Saudi official has allegedly made it clear that the new defense deal is the result of years of talks and is not a direct response to any one country or event. The person also stressed that Riyadh’s ties with India are still strong, saying, “Our relationship with India is stronger than it has ever been.” We will keep working on this partnership and do whatever we can to help bring peace to the region.