Saudi Arabia signs mutual defense pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan after Israel attacks Qatar – Winnipeg Free Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan have signed a mutual defense pact that regards any attack on either nation as an attack on both in the wake of Israel’s strike on Qatar.

Saudi Arabia long has had close economic, religious and security ties to Pakistan, including reportedly providing funding for Islamabad’s nuclear weapons program as it developed. Analysts — and Pakistani diplomats in at least one case — have suggested over the years that the kingdom could be included under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella, particularly as tensions have risen over Iran’s atomic program.

But the timing of the pact appeared to be a signal to Israel, long suspected to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state, which has conducted a sprawling military offensive since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 202