On September 17, 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia took a bold step to cement their longstanding alliance, signing a mutual defense pact that pledges each country to come to the other’s aid in the event of a military attack. The agreement—formally named the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement—was announced during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s high-profile visit to Riyadh, marking a significant moment in the region’s shifting geopolitical landscape.
This latest pact, underscored by the dramatic context of rising regional tensions, comes on the heels of the September 9 Israeli airstrike in Qatar’s capital that targeted senior Hamas officials and killed six people. According to a joint statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement declares that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” The commitment is sweeping: both nations vowed to develop aspects of defense cooperation and “strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.”
Prime Minister Sharif, who traveled to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was received with full royal protocol—a red-carpet welcome, a Saudi air force escort, and all the trappings of diplomatic ceremony. The symbolism was clear: both countries wanted to send a message of unity and resolve, not just to their own citizens, but to the wider world.
“This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means,” a senior Saudi official told reporters, as cited by FDD. The pact, while not unexpected given the nations’ history, signals a renewed emphasis on security cooperation at a time when the region is anything but predictable.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long been close partners. Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to recognize Pakistan after its independence in 1947, and the two states have since maintained strong ties across security, religious, and economic spheres. In recent years, the relationship has had its imbalances—Saudi Arabia has repeatedly provided critical bailouts to shore up Pakistan’s struggling economy, and remains a key supplier of oil to Islamabad. Yet, as regional threats have multiplied, the value of Pakistan’s large military and nuclear arsenal is not lost on Riyadh.
The new agreement is not just about symbolism, though many experts believe its practical military value may be limited. According to FDD, Pakistan currently has between 1,500 and 2,000 troops deployed in Saudi Arabia to assist and train the Royal Saudi Armed Forces. This longstanding cooperation, however, has not previously included a formal pledge of mutual defense.
Historically, the alliance has been tested by global events. When Pakistan conducted its first nuclear test in 1998 and found itself diplomatically isolated, Saudi King Fahd bin Abdulaziz privately reassured Pakistani Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, promising to “support you more than you expect.” Riyadh subsequently pledged $3.4 billion in financial support, helping Pakistan advance its nuclear program at a critical juncture, as reported by FDD.
The timing of the agreement is crucial. Both countries have condemned Israel’s strike on Hamas officials in Qatar, but their most immediate threats lie closer to home. Saudi Arabia has endured thousands of attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen between 2015 and 2022, including missile and drone strikes against airports and oil facilities, many of which targeted civilians. For Pakistan, the dangers are multifaceted: a bitter, unresolved territorial dispute with India over Kashmir has led to repeated military escalations, including a recent four-day conflict in May 2025. In January 2024, Pakistan and Iran exchanged drone and missile strikes after Iran hit Pakistan’s Balochistan region.
Despite the grand language of the pact, some analysts urge caution in assessing its real-world implications. Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow at FDD, remarked, “Though the Saudi-Pakistani relationship has long been close, there have been limitations on mutual support. This new mutual defense pact is likely to remain a symbolic agreement, with its main applicability in nonbelligerent arenas, such as training and procurement. Likewise, assertions that the agreement is targeted toward Israel make no sense, as there is no prospect in the foreseeable future of Israel becoming involved in conflict with either the Saudis or the Pakistanis. Iran is involved far more in hostile activity against both nations. Finally, it is inconceivable that Riyadh would allow itself to become embroiled in a future war between India and Pakistan, which is the most likely scenario that either country faces for military hostilities in the near future.”
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, also of FDD, added a dose of military realism: “The deal’s military value appears negligible beyond its symbolic photo-op. Islamabad lacks the capability to project power over 2,600 miles to Riyadh. Claims that Pakistan could provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella are dubious, as its longest-range missile, the Shaheen III, has a 1,700-mile range and cannot reach most threats to the kingdom.”
Still, for both governments, the agreement sends a powerful message of solidarity and deterrence. The joint statement from Islamabad and Riyadh emphasized their “commitment to both nations’ security and peace in the region and world.” The pact is designed, at least on paper, to “develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.”
For Pakistan, the agreement signals a continued reliance on Saudi support—not just economically, but strategically. Saudi Arabia’s willingness to extend a security guarantee, even if largely symbolic, is a vote of confidence in Islamabad’s role as a regional power. For Riyadh, keeping Pakistan close ensures access to a major Muslim military power and a nuclear-armed ally, at a time when regional rivalries with Iran and ongoing instability in Yemen have left the kingdom wary of standing alone.
Observers note that the agreement’s announcement, with all its pomp and circumstance, also serves domestic political purposes for both leaders. Prime Minister Sharif, facing economic headwinds and political uncertainty at home, can point to the pact as evidence of Pakistan’s enduring importance on the world stage. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, meanwhile, demonstrates to his own citizens and rivals alike that Saudi Arabia remains at the center of the Muslim world’s security architecture.
Yet, as history has shown, such pacts often reveal their true value only in moments of crisis. Whether the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement will ever be tested is an open question. For now, it stands as a testament to the enduring, if sometimes complicated, partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia—a relationship built on decades of shared interests, mutual reliance, and, above all, the shifting sands of Middle Eastern geopolitics.