Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s recently signed strategic defence pact could open its doors to other countries, potentially creating a NATO-like security architecture in the region, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said.
The landmark agreement was signed last Wednesday at Riyadh’s Al-Yamamah Palace by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Under the pact, an attack on either party would be treated as an attack on both — a mutual-defence clause that ministers described as defensive rather than aggressive.
Asked on Geo News’s programme “Aaj Shahjeb Khanzada Ke Saath” whether other Arab states could join the pact, Khawaja Asif said the option remains open. “The door is not closed,” he said, adding that while no final decision has been made, there is scope for additional members to be admitted in future.
Asif argued that, given the region’s history over the past 40–50 years, a NATO-style framework has long been useful for Pakistan. He framed the pact as an expression of regional peoples’ — especially Muslim communities’ — fundamental right to collectively defend their territories and nations.
Addressing whether Pakistan’s nuclear capability would be part of the agreement, Asif said, “What we possess — our capabilities — will of course fall under the scope of this pact.” He reiterated Pakistan’s long-standing position that it has acted responsibly as a nuclear power, noting that Pakistan has permitted inspections of its nuclear facilities, in contrast to what he characterized as Israel’s refusal to allow inspections.
Asif emphasized the pact is not directed against any specific country: “There is no doubt that an attack on one country will involve the other directly. This agreement is not aimed at any particular nation and it is not an offensive pact. It is a defensive arrangement, much like NATO.” He also stressed that the accord does not preclude Pakistan from entering similar defence arrangements with other states.
Khawaja Asif described the new deal as the institutionalization of long-standing cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan has previously trained Saudi forces and maintained a contingent presence of its army and air force in the kingdom, he noted. The minister added that safeguarding the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia is viewed by Pakistan as a “sacred duty.”
When asked whether Washington had been informed about the pact, Asif responded that the agreement was neither about third-party roles nor about territorial expansion. “This is not a plan for hegemony. We do not intend to seize territory or launch attacks; we will, however, exercise our fundamental rights,” he said.
Asif concluded that Pakistan may pursue similar defence frameworks with other partners in the future, signaling potential expansion of the arrangement beyond Riyadh and Islamabad.
Source: Dawn News