Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif on Thursday answered a lingering question about the new defense pact between his country and Saudi Arabia by confirming that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is covered by the agreement.

The Saudi-Pakistani pact, supposedly in the works for months but signed with great fanfare on Wednesday after Israel attacked Hamas leaders hiding in Qatar, troubled many security analysts because Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

The pact committed Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to treat an attack on either nation as an attack on both, in language similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) mutual defense commitment . It was not immediately clear if this meant Pakistan would extend its nuclear umbrella to cover the Saudis, who are not ex

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