The signing of a mutual defence agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which declares that “any aggression ... shall be considered an aggression against both”, is a moment of consequence for both countries as well as for West and South Asia. Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam’s two holiest mosques, and Pakistan, the Islamic world’s only nuclear power, have always enjoyed a special relationship. Pakistan has trained Saudi forces for decades, while the kingdom has provided generous financial assistance, including help for Islamabad’s nuclear programme. With the agreement, this partnership has now been institutionalised. Yet, its timing, announced a week after Israel bombed Qatar, underlines the shifting sands in the Persian Gulf’s security landscape. For decades, its monarchies relie

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