ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is committed to its landmark mutual defense agreement with Saudi Arabia under which aggression against one country is to be considered an attack on both, a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said on Thursday, following ballistic missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement on the Kingdom.
The Houthis this week said they had fired missiles at Saudi Arabia in retaliation for what they described as Saudi-backed strikes on an airport under their control, breaking a four-year truce that had largely kept the Kingdom out of direct conflict with the Iran-aligned group. Saudi authorities said they intercepted missiles launched toward the country’s southern region.
In Sept. last year, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which share close strategic, economic and defense ties, signed the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA), which effectively treats an armed attack against one nation as an attack against both and serves as the cornerstone of their strategic relationship.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad remained steadfast in its obligations under the agreement, when asked if Pakistan was actively implementing the pact in light of renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
“Pakistan has expressed its unwavering commitment to support sovereignty, territorial integrity of our brotherly country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Andrabi said. “Pakistan remained fully committed to implement all its bilateral agreements with respect to Saudi Arabia, including the mutual defense agreement.”
The statement came days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Houthi ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, warning that the assault risked further destabilizing an already fragile Middle East.
AID TO AFGHANISTAN AND BORDER SECURITY
Andrabi confirmed that Islamabad continues to facilitate United Nations-led humanitarian convoys for Afghanistan, with approximately 45 aid trucks already processed through Pakistani land routes.
Pakistan has tightened movement across its borders with Afghanistan since last October, following a deterioration in bilateral relations due to a surge in militancy in Pakistan, suspending all bilateral and transit trade.
Despite aid facilitation, Andrabi emphasized, diplomatic relations with Kabul remain strained due to the prevailing security concerns.
“No, sir, ice has not broken and ice will not break until Afghanistan renounces the support of terrorism in Pakistan,” he said.
“The Afghan Taliban regime must renounce terrorism against Pakistan, give verifiable written assurances that its territory will not be used to foment, engineer, sponsor and execute terrorist attacks against Pakistan.”
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for cross-border attacks in Pakistan’s western regions bordering Afghanistan in recent years. Kabul has consistently denied this.
SECURITY FOR CHINESE PROJECTS
Andrabi dismissed media reports suggesting that the China-backed Saindak Metals Limited copper mine project in Balochistan might face a shutdown due to security concerns, adding that Pakistan has a rigorous security apparatus in place for its international partners.
“We are not obliged to comment on news stories whose facts remain questionable,” the foreign office spokesman said.
China has been building a deep-sea port in Gwadar on the Arabian Sea and has made huge investments in Balochistan, the site of a decades-long insurgency, under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Andrabi said both countries remain in constant touch regarding the safety of Chinese nationals working on CPEC and other infrastructure projects.
“As host to these projects, Pakistan guarantees impeccable security to our Chinese guests who are working on these projects,” he added.
