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Upcoming Event

Unpacking the Saudi-Pakistani Mutual Defense Agreement

On October 20, AGSI will host a discussion on Saudi-Pakistani defense ties.

Date

Oct 20, 2025

Time

1:00pm - 2:00pm

About the event

On September 17, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement that continues the historical security and defense cooperation between the two countries, from the 1951 Treaty of Friendship to the 1982 Organization Agreement that led to the deployment of Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia.  

The new agreement states that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” and it “aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.” It came amid a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering in the Gulf in the days following Israel’s September 9 airstrike on Qatar and a deadly Indian-Pakistani military clash earlier in the year. However, both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan affirmed that the pact was years in the making.  

Does the Saudi-Pakistani defense agreement create new strategic equations in the Gulf and South Asia? Does it place Saudi Arabia under a practical, actionable Pakistani nuclear umbrella? Would Pakistan go to war against Iran, Israel, or the Houthis in response to a missile or drone attack on Saudi Arabia? Or would there be a meaningful Saudi response to military attacks against Pakistan by India or others? What does it portend for Saudi strategic and military relations with the United States and, more broadly, between Gulf Cooperation Council states and Washington? How will Islamabad balance its primary commitments in South Asia with additional responsibilities in the Gulf? How are policymakers in India viewing the agreement, and what will it mean for New Delhi’s diplomatic balancing act in the Gulf? Finally, might Saudi Arabia risk its growing economic ties with India in the event of a conflict between Pakistan and India? 

The views represented herein are the author's or speaker's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSI, its staff, or its board of directors.

Speakers

Feroz Hassan Khan

(Ret.) Brigadier Feroz Hassan Khan

Lecturer, Department of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School

Abdulaziz Al Sager

Abdulaziz Al Sager

Founder and Chair of the Gulf Research Center

Moderator

Hussein Ibish

Senior Resident Scholar, AGSI