ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s defense pact with Saudi Arabia will provide a foundation for peace in South Asia and the Middle East, opening the door for other Arab states to join as well, Coordinator to the Prime Minister Rana Ihsan Afzal said this week. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) in Riyadh this week, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both.

Deal with nuclear-armed Pakistan comes as Gulf Arab states worry about US reliability while Saudi official says pact isn’t responding to ‘specific events’

Pakistan has also called for a military alliance of Arab and Islamic states modelled after Nato amid rising regional tensions.