LONDON:
Pakistan’s mutual defense agreement with nuclear weapons with Saudi Arabia can have a cascade effect on the Arabian peninsula, since the Vice Prime Minister Ishaq hinted on Friday that other countries are also showing interest in forging similar pacts with Islamabad.
“It is premature to say something definitive, but after this development, other countries have expressed interest in similar agreements,” said Ishaq Dar, who is also Pakistan’s defense minister, while talking with journalists in London. “However, such agreements follow a due process. Even with Saudi Arabia, it took several months to end.”
Riad and Islamabad signed the Defense Pact on Wednesday night, significantly strengthening a Safety Association of decades a week after Israel’s reckless strike over Qatar overturned the diplomatic calculation in the region. The development occurred at a time when the Gulf Arab states are increasingly cautious about the reliability of the United States as a security guarantor.
Dar described the agreement as a “historical milestone”, noting that although there had always been an implicit understanding, both between the government and the people of Pakistan, with respect to the country’s commitment to the security of Saudi Arabia, especially the protection of the two sacred mosques, the signing of the pact has now formalized that feeling.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are satisfied and happy with the agreement, he said, adding that the kingdom has constantly maintained Pakistan during difficult times. “Saudi Arabia played a key role in supporting Pakistan after the international crisis and during the recent economic crisis,” he added.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters that nuclear weapons “were not on the radar” of the pact. He said the agreement could be extended to cover other nations of the Gulf.
“We have no intention of using this pact for any aggression,” Asif said. “But if the parties are threatened, then obviously this agreement will be operational.”
When asked if Pakistan would now be obliged to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella, a senior Saudi official said to Reuters: “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that covers all military media.”
A statement of Saudi Arabia said that the Pact “aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence.”
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comments on whether Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were included in the agreement.
Wednesday’s announcement did not mention nuclear weapons or any payment to Pakistan. “The agreement establishes that any aggression against any country will be considered an aggression against both,” said Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Saudi heir prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, for “his great interest in expanding Saudi investments, commerce and commercial ties,” in a statement on Thursday.
