Saudi Arabia seeks allies through defense agreements, Pakistan is caught in a dilemma
With the Middle East conflict spreading, Saudi Arabia has approached its defense ally Pakistan. Will Islamabad "step in"?
On Saturday local time, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman announced on social media platform X that he had met with Pakistan's Army Chief General Asim Munir to discuss Iran's retaliatory actions against US and Israel, as well as the security crisis faced by Saudi Arabia.
In his statement, Salman said that both sides focused on the missile and drone attacks launched by Iran against Saudi Arabian Gulf countries, and agreed to develop specific measures within the framework of their "Joint Strategic Defense Agreement" to prevent such attacks.
The statement also mentioned that both sides believed Iran's military actions severely undermined regional security and stability, and called on Tehran to exercise restraint and "use wisdom and avoid miscalculation."
The "Joint Strategic Defense Agreement" mentioned by Salman refers to the mutual defense pact signed last September between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — the only nuclear-armed country in the Islamic world — following Israel's surprise attack on Qatar and its precise strike on Hamas leadership located in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Its core provisions state that any attack on one of the contracting parties is considered an attack on both countries.
This is not only the first time that Saudi Arabia, a long-term US ally in the Middle East, has actively sought to reduce its reliance on Washington for security guarantees, but it is also the most significant formal defense commitment Pakistan has ever signed in decades.
Currently, this agreement is facing a severe test that neither Saudi nor Pakistani side had previously anticipated. According to a report by Al Jazeera on July 7, Pakistan is under great internal and external pressure over whether to fulfill its defense commitments as Saudi Arabia continues to suffer from Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The report states that on one hand, Pakistan has deep defense ties with Saudi Arabia, with approximately 1500 to 2000 Pakistani soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia, and millions of laborers working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, making the economic and security relationship extremely tight; on the other hand, Pakistan shares a 900 km border with Iran, which could easily lead to friction due to cross-border armed issues, and the domestic Shia population holds sympathy and anger towards the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, forcing Islamabad to carefully "walk a tightrope" between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
To date, Islamabad's response has been to conduct intensive diplomatic communications, frequently contacting regional leaders including Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, analysts generally point out that as the Middle East conflict continues to escalate, it will become increasingly difficult for Pakistan to maintain its alliance with Riyadh while avoiding direct confrontation with Tehran, making this balancing strategy of maintaining both sides increasingly unsustainable.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1859004975352844/
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