Pakistan said it had discussed with Saudi Arabia joint measures it could take to stop Iranian drone and missile attacks on the kingdom, the first test of a mutual defense pact between the two countries, Bloomberg reported.
Pakistan’s military said on Saturday that its powerful army chief Asim Munir had met with Khalid bin Salman in Saudi Arabia to discuss deteriorating security in the region.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Munir and the Saudi defense minister discussed “the seriousness of the security situation arising from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the kingdom and the joint measures needed to stop them under the strategic mutual defense agreement,” the military said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a defense pact in September last year, strengthening their long-standing security partnership, saying “any aggression against either country will be considered aggression against both”. Dar told reporters last week that Pakistan had been in touch with Iran to inform it about a defense deal with Saudi Arabia.
Tehran continues to launch missile strikes on Gulf states in what is now a week-long war with the US and Israel, a seismic conflict that has reverberated around the world. Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had intercepted drones heading for a major oil field, the latest energy asset to be targeted in a conflict that has sent oil and gas prices soaring.
Pakistan’s military said on Saturday that Munir and Khalid agreed that “unprovoked aggression undermines regional stability and makes the possibility of a peaceful settlement of disputes impossible.” The two sides hoped Iran would “exercise prudence and tact to avoid any miscalculation and strengthen the hands of friendly countries seeking a peaceful settlement of the crisis,” it said.
Assurances from Pakistan suggest it could be drawn into the Iran conflict, raising the stakes for the country. Pakistan’s Shia population—the largest in the world after Iran and Iraq—shares strong religious and ideological ties with Iran. Protests erupted outside several US consulates after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killing at least two dozen people.
Pakistan is also embroiled in its own fighting with neighboring Afghanistan, with cross-border attacks intensifying in recent weeks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman on Friday ruled out peace talks with Afghanistan until the Taliban government there stops supporting militant groups that Islamabad blames for attacks on its territory.
