ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military spokesperson on Friday reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to stand by its defense pact with Saudi Arabia, as the Middle East remains embroiled in regional tensions due to the ongoing US-Iran war.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a historic defense pact in September 2025 that establishes a collective security framework declaring that aggression against either country will be considered an aggression against both.
Responding to a question about recent attacks targeting Saudi oil facilities by Iran-backed militias from Yemen and Iraq this week, Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Islamabad is proud that its army has been chosen by god as the “Protector of the Two Holy Mosques.”
“So, we have a strategic mutual defense agreement [with Saudi Arabia],” Chaudhry said. “And we are those people who stand by our agreements and promises.”
Chaudhry refused to share details of how the agreement between the two countries would be operationalized.
“No one will talk about it here with you,” he said. “That is for those who know how to operationalize it.”
He said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a “special” relationship due to which the two countries were bound to each other in several domains such as defense and economy.
In response to a question, Chaudhry rejected speculation that Pakistan’s relations with the UAE had deteriorated. Pakistan completed repayment of $3.5 billion to the UAE in April as part of its external debt obligations. Several news outlets had reported that the repayment reflected that ties between the two were strained.
Media outlets also reported in May that Pakistani citizens were deported from the UAE as they were Shia Muslims amid tensions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi. Pakistan had rejected the reports then and said its ties with UAE were “absolutely fine.”
“Pakistan and the UAE enjoy close and brotherly relations,” Chaudhry said, adding that the two countries shared “close, deep relations and people-to-people contacts.”
He acknowledged that differences between two countries were natural.
“Any two countries could not have 100 percent convergence on all issues,” he said.
Sharif also urged the public to view recent policy measures adopted by the UAE in the context of regional security challenges.
“We need to understand that the UAE is going through a military conflict, and when a country is going through a military conflict, they have to adopt certain policies,” he said.
