By Arun Nair

Copyright timesnownews

India shares a wide-ranging strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, one that has “deepened considerably” in recent years, the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday, as it signalled to Riyadh to “keep in mind mutual interests and sensitivities” over the latter’s defense pact with Pakistan. Announced this week, the Saudi-Pakistan defense pact puts Pakistan’s nuclear-armed military into the Middle East security picture as Arab nations feel a rising threat from Israel. Though only a few details of the pact have been disclosed, Riyadh has hinted that it will have a de facto nuclear shield under the agreement with Islamabad. Israel is widely considered to be the only nuclear state in the Middle East, according to experts. Besides Israel, the pact raises concern for India and Iran. “We expect that this strategic partnership will keep in mind mutual interests and sensitivities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, reacting to Wednesday’s defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters that nuclear weapons were “not on the radar” of the pact. He said the agreement could be extended to cover other Gulf nations. “We have no intention of using this pact for any aggression,” said Asif, adding that “this arrangement will become operative” if the parties are threatened. While there was no mention of nuclear weapons or any payment to Pakistan in Wednesday’s agreement, the pact states that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”. The wording of “attack on one = attack on both” on the NATO-style defence pact is being viewed in Islamabad as a major diplomatic victory. Analysts, however, said the pact is nothing but posturing and more targeted towards Israel than India. Wary of the optics surrounding the pact, Riyadh was quick to emphasise that its ties with New Delhi were “more robust than it has ever been”. Israel’s last week’s strike in Qatar – an all-weather ally of the US – has forced the Gulf Arab states to explore a pact with militarily stronger nations in the region. Analysts said that the fear largely reflects their shrinking confidence in the security provided by the United States to the region. While Israel has never confirmed or denied possessing nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia has said that it would follow if rival Iran acquired nuclear weapons. Asked whether the “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” requires Pakistan to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella, a senior Saudi official told Reuters: “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means.” “From the Saudi perspective, it is intended to plug the strategic and conventional deterrence deficit vis-a-vis nuclear-armed Israel,” Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, according to Reuters. Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons While Pakistan is one of the poorer countries in Asia, it is the nuclear-armed Muslim nation, and has an army of more than 600,000. Pakistan’s nuclear strength is estimated to be around 100-120 nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for “his keen interest in expanding Saudi investments, trade and business ties”, in a statement on Thursday. What Saudi-Pakistan Defense Pact Means For India But will the Royal Saudi Air Force send its F-15s and Eurofighter Typhoons to aid Islamabad if conflict breaks out between India and Pakistan? Analysts say that while Pakistan may dream of it on the back of its newly signed defence agreement, Saudi Arabia was quick to delink it from its ties with India. “Our relationship with India is more robust than it has ever been. We will continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace in whichever way we can,” a senior Saudi official told Reuters. Pakistan and India have fought three major wars, along with numerous clashes, including a four-day conflict in May that was their heaviest fighting in decades. Both India and Pakistan went nuclear in the late 1990s. According to military observers, Pakistan is developing missiles that can hit deep into India. But if pointed in the other direction, Pakistan’s longest-range missiles have enough range to strike Israel. “Israel was never comfortable with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons,” Adil Sultan, a former military officer who has worked at Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, told Reuters. Last year, a senior White House official said Pakistan was developing long-range ballistic missile that could strike targets well beyond South Asia. Islamabad denied that. Saudi Arabia is the fourth-largest trading partner of India, while New Delhi is the second largest for Riyadh. In FY 2024-25, bilateral trade stood at USD 41.88 billion. Both countries share deep economic and socio-cultural ties. On the other hand, the trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is barely USD 3–4 billion. Thus, it is unlikely that Saudi Arabia will go against India. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.