Islamabad, Pakistan – A beaming Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – welcomed with Saudi F-15 fighter jets, a red carpet, and full royal protocol – joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to sign a “strategic mutual defence agreement” (SMDA).

Observers say it is a landmark moment in the decades-old alliance between the two nations whose ties stretch back nearly eight decades.

The signing ceremony at the Royal Court in Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh was witnessed by senior officials from Saudi Arabia, the custodian of two of Islam’s holiest sites, alongside representatives from Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only nuclear power.

The deal comes at a critical moment. Regional politics have been upended by two years of Israeli aggression – including its war on Gaza and

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