Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) during Pak Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s and Army Chief Asim Munir’s visit to Riyadh.

Inked eight days after Israel’s unprecedented airstrikes in Qatar, the details of the deal are not public. However, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting, “the agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”.

Responding to a question by Reuters on whether Pakistan would extend its nuclear umbrella to the Kingdom, a senior Saudi official asserted that the agreement “encompasses all military means”.

India has said that it was aware of the arrangement which “formalises a long-standing arrangement between the two countries”. That is indeed

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