Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says its nukes will be made available to Saudi Arabia under new defence pact

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said his country’s nuclear capabilities could be extended to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defence pact, marking the first time that Islamabad has openly acknowledged placing the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.

“Let me make one point clear about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield. What we have, our capabilities, will absolutely be available under this pact,” Asif told Geo TV in an interview late on Thursday.

The pact, signed on Wednesday, declares that an attack on one nation will be considered an attack on both. Asif described it as “an umbrella arrangement offered to one another by both sides: if there is aggression against either party – from any side – it will be jointly defended, and the aggression will be met with a response.”

Describing Pakistan as an “abiding nuclear power”, the Defence Minister said his country’s nuclear installations were open for inspections.

“All our nuclear installations are open to inspections. We get certificates for our facilities. We are an abiding nuclear power and don’t violate anything,” he said.

Asif’s remarks underlined the importance of the defence pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.

“Israel, despite being a nuclear power, has not opened its facilites to anyone. All Western nations know that. Many decades ago, Israel Israel retaliated and questioned why it’s nuclear inspections were being done,” the Defence Minister said.

Earlier, Asif told news agency Reuters that the defence pact could be extended to cover other Gulf nations and that Pakistan “had no intention” of using the deal for “any aggression”.

“We have no intention of using this pact for any aggression. But if the parties are threatened, then obviously this arrangement will become operative,” he said.

Asif had also stressed that nuclear weapons were “not on the radar” of the pact.

The defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf following Israeli strikes across the region, including a deadly attack in Doha targeting top Hamas leaders. Analysts see the pact as a signal to Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

Saudi Arabia has long been suspected of supporting Pakistan’s nuclear programme financially. Pakistan, which developed its arsenal to counter India, is believed to hold about 170 warheads, nearly equal to its neighbour India’s 172, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also suggested others may also seek similar deals. “It is premature to say anything, but after this development, other countries have also expressed a desire for similar arrangements,” Dar told reporters in London.

“Such things follow due process. Even with Saudi Arabia, it took several months to finalise,” he said.

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