Pakistan cabinet ratifies Saudi defense pact as PM Sharif hails ‘centuries-old’ Islamic ties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Thursday ratified a newly signed defense pact with Saudi Arabia, state media reported, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized what he called the “centuries-old Islamic bond” between the two nations.
The two countries signed the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement during Sharif’s visit to Riyadh last month, pledging that aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both. The accord was widely viewed as a move to formalize longstanding military cooperation into a binding security commitment aimed at bolstering joint deterrence.
Prior to the cabinet’s ratification, Sharif briefed ministers on his recent trip to the Kingdom, describing it as a milestone in Pakistan-Saudi relations.
“I want to tell you that our visit to Saudi Arabia was historic,” he said in televised remarks at the start of the meeting. “Our historical, Islamic and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia are not 77 years old. They span centuries and have only strengthened since Pakistan’s creation.”
