NEW DELHI: In yet another guarded response to the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan, India on Friday said it expects Riyadh to take note of “mutual interests and sensitivities” as the region navigates shifting security dynamics.
“We have a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia. It is multi-dimensional, and in recent times it has strengthened considerably. We expect that our strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia will be pursued keeping in mind mutual interests and sensitivities, within the framework of this partnership,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Answering multiple questions on the Saudi-Pakistan pact, the MEA spokesperson went on to say “We have a wide-ranging strategic partnership which has deepened in the last several years considerably. We expect that this strategic partnership will keep in mind mutual interest and sensitivities.”
The MEA spokesperson had earlier said that India “will study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability. The Government remains committed to protecting India’s national interests and ensuring comprehensive national security in all domains.”
The pact signed during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit to Riyadh includes a mutual defence clause, with a joint statement noting that 'any aggression against either of the two countries shall be considered as an aggression against both.' While not unprecedented, this formalisation marks a significant upgrade in bilateral military cooperation. Saudi Arabia is a key economic and energy partner for India. The agreement has sparked renewed strategic calculations in New Delhi, particularly given Saudi Arabia’s role in regional affairs and.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan share a decades-long defence partnership, with Pakistan often providing military manpower and expertise, especially during regional threats from Iran or Arab nationalism. The first formal defence agreement was signed in 1967 and upgraded in 1982; at one point, over 15,000 Pakistani troops were stationed in the Kingdom. The new agreement, which India was aware of, formalises long-standing arrangements, particularly Pakistani support to Saudi Arabia. Its announcement may have been accelerated by recent attacks in Doha. While details remain undisclosed, a joint statement mentions collective defence. The legal enforceability of this clause is yet to be assessed.
While the United States continues to provide the overarching security umbrella in the Gulf, Pakistan’s defence linkages with Saudi Arabia have been a constant in the region’s security landscape, though there was never an overarching pact like this one. In recent times, many Gulf countries are wary of having the US as the sole security guarantor.
Especially over the past 15 years, Saudi-Pakistan defence ties have deepened and diversified, reflecting evolving regional and global realities. Pakistan’s former army chief General Raheel Sharif’s leadership of the Saudi-led Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition since 2017 was a major development showcasing Riyadh’s trust in Islamabad. Joint military exercises and cooperation in defence production and technology have since expanded. Pakistani troops continue to serve in Saudi Arabia in training and advisory roles under the 1982 agreement.
In many ways, the new defence pact is not sudden but the culmination of decades of strategic alignment. It also signals Pakistan’s own complex geopolitical balancing of ties with China and re-engagement with the US amid Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 push for defence self-reliance.With millions of Indian citizens living and working in West Asia, and India’s growing economic and political interests in the region, the Saudi-Pakistan defence pact introduces a new variable in the evolving security calculus.
