'Will be made available..': Pak says its nuclear arsenal could be extended to Saudi Arabia under new defence pact

Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has said the country’s nuclear capability could be extended ('will be made available') to Saudi Arabia under a newly signed mutual defence pact, in what can be described as an explicit acknowledgement that Islamabad has placed the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.

Speaking in an interview with Geo TV on Thursday night, Khawaja Asif responded to a question about whether 'the deterrence that Pakistan gets from nuclear weapons' will be made available to Saudi Arabia.

“Let me make one point clear about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield. What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to (Saudi Arabia) according to this agreement,” Asif responded, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP).

A historic pact between longstanding allies

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defence treaty in Riyadh, attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. The pact has a NATO Article 5-like provision that stipulates that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” effectively binding the two militaries closer together.

The pact is seen as a deepening of a decades-long relationship. Saudi Arabia has long been linked to Pakistan’s nuclear programme, with retired Brigadier General Feroz Hassan Khan noting that Riyadh provided significant financial support that sustained nuclear development during periods when Pakistan was under international sanctions.

Regional implications and Israel factor

Analysts view the timing of the pact as significant, following Israeli strikes in Qatar that killed senior Hamas leaders. The move is widely seen as a message to Israel, long regarded as the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state, though never officially declared as such.

Pakistan’s arsenal is estimated at around 170 warheads, close to India’s 180, according to the latest data. Its Shaheen-III ballistic missile, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, has a range of 2,750 kilometres, enough to reach Israel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which maintains monitoring agreements with both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, has not publicly commented on the implications of the pact. Asif, however, used his interview to criticise Israel for never formally disclosing its nuclear arsenal to the IAEA.

The announcement comes as Gulf Arab states increasingly question the reliability of the United States as a long-term security guarantor.