Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a formal mutual defence pact on Wednesday, in a move that significantly strengthens a decades-long security partnership amid heightened regional tensions.

The enhanced defence ties come as Gulf Arab states grow increasingly wary about the reliability of the United States as their long-standing security guarantor. Israel’s attack on Qatar last week heightened those concerns.

“This agreement is a culmination of years of discussions. This is not a response to specific countries or specific events but an institutionalization of long-standing and deep co-operation between our two countries,” a senior Saudi official told

See Full Page