The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) sealed on 17 September 2025 ushers in a new era of enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that has its foundations in centuries’ old spiritual unanimity. For the past about eight decades, the two brotherly countries have been cooperating in economic, military and geostrategic realms. A large Pakistani diaspora of about 2.5 million is contributing in multiple fields towards the development of the Kingdom.
Besides people to people and government to government contacts, military to military cooperation has spanned these decades too. It saw its zenith in the 1980s when Pakistani military contingents were deployed in various parts of KSA to defend it against any aggression. Pakistan also played an important role in training and raising militaries in KSA and other Middle Eastern countries.
The SMDA is, therefore, not only a continuation, but fruition of years’ long mutually beneficial partnership. The agreement is primarily defensive in nature. It is not against any country or alliance. It is a bilateral agreement aimed to augment each other’s defence. The major element of the agreement is that an attack on one partner will be considered an attack on the other. It has far reaching geo-strategic, economic, military, diplomatic and socio-economic implications. Both the partner countries will have to sit together to review their national security strategies, visualise joint threat perceptions and crystalise responses to mitigate them.
Existing capabilities will have to be pitched against the newer requirements to find out shortfalls and prepare short — and long-term plans to optimally resource implementation of the joint security strategy. Both the countries have varied and diverse equipment inventory. Developing multi-domain interoperability will be a major challenge. Intelligence sharing mechanism, extensive joint exercises and training will be an essential part of the preparations for the future. For this purpose, both the countries will have to establish joint headquarters, and staff it with best of the bests.
People to people and business to business relations are important to cement the bilateral relations. Pakistan has an industrious and vibrant youth that can be equipped with requisite skills to augment KSA’s development. Pakistani youth can be recruited, appropriately trained and sent to join the KSA military as well. Though the SDMA is a bilateral agreement, by implication it is likely to become multilateral. It is expected to play an important role in expanding Pak-Saudi diplomatic ties to each other’s friends. Saudi Arabia has good relations with India too, and that may help improve Indo-Pak ties. In the backdrop of the SDMA, India will definitely have to review its behaviour, and its hybrid aggression against Pakistan.
Pakistan faces issues related to the economy too. KSA had been showing interest in investing in Pakistan’s oil, gas, mineral and agricultural sectors. Pakistan is also in need of FDI in these fields, as well as the defence industry. Now, the KSA is likely to invest with more confidence. However, provision of a business-friendly environment with assured security of investment and surety for repatriation of the profits is essential too.
There are multiple speculations in the air about the SDMA: is it going to become a Muslim NATO? Are other countries of the Middle East going to join it? Has the United States lost influence in the region? Has the Middle East decided to move towards China, Russia, etc?
In fact, it is too early to proffer such conclusions. Washington is still a preeminent superpower with significant military, technological and financial capabilities. Hence, soothsaying that it has lost the influence or a NATO-style alliance has evolved is too far-fetched. The Pak-Saudi pact has to be essentially seen as a bilateral agreement between two brotherly countries, which binds both nations to deter an aggression, and if imposed, to jointly defeat it defending sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring safety and security of people and assets of both the countries.
While KSA and Pakistan have strong military capabilities, they have always acted maturely and rationally as responsible nations. Restraint has been a defining character of both the nations. Though it is a great beginning that exudes multifaceted advantages, it is also likely to face opposition from multiple quarters. The US and West may see it as a challenge to their strategic ally Israel. Working out joint security strategy and its implementation will also be an uphill task. However, perseverance and steadfastness are the keys to success. It is a pact between two brothers in faith that will never fade, and both will gel to form a formidable wall against any aggression. It is reiterated that the SDMA is a partnership for defence, peace and stability in the region. It is, in no way, an alliance intended for aggression against any country.
