Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign mutual defence pact

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact late on Wednesday, significantly strengthening a decades-old security partnership.

Pakistani state television showed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embracing after signing the agreement. Also there was Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, regarded as the country's most powerful person.

"The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both," a statement from the Pakistani prime minister's office said.

Pakistan's decades-old alliance with Saudi Arabia is rooted in shared faith, strategic interests and economic interdependence.

Asked whether Pakistan would now be obliged to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella, a senior Saudi official told Reuters: "This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means."

The agreement was the culmination of years of discussions, the Saudi official said when asked about the timing of the deal. "This is not a response to specific countries or specific events but an institutionalisation of long-standing and deep cooperation between our two countries," the official added.

Pakistan has long had soldiers deployed in Saudi Arabia, currently estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 troops, providing operational, technical and training help to the Saudi military. That includes assistance to the Saudi air and land forces.

Saudi Arabia has loaned Pakistan $3 billion, a deal extended in December, to shore up its foreign exchange reserves.

The Saudi deal comes months after Pakistan fought a brief military conflict with India in May.