Pakistan, Kuwait hold defense talks as Gulf seeks stronger security amid US-Iran crisis — Report | Today’s news

According to five sources with knowledge of the talks, Pakistan is negotiating an expanded defense pact with Kuwait in exchange for energy cooperation and investment.

The talks remain at an early stage, all the sources said, and could still be complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, one of the sources said.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Islamabad is growing concerned that its mutual defense pact signed with Saudi Arabia last year could drag Pakistan into a US-Iran war. After the Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched an attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday, nuclear-armed Pakistan told Iran it would treat attacks on the kingdom as attacks on itself.

Any defense deal with Kuwait, which has come under heavy attack by Iran this year, would also raise questions about Pakistan’s role in future US-Iran mediation.

Kuwait has a more limited defense agreement with Pakistan for training and joint exercises starting in 2023. It is now seeking a show of force from Islamabad similar to Pakistan’s pact with Saudi Arabia, including “thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defense system and other defense-related equipment,” a Pakistani government official said.

It is unclear whether Pakistan is willing to go that far, given that its deal with Saudi Arabia was the result of decades of close alliance with Riyadh.

“Kuwait’s wish list includes everything,” said a Pakistani security official with knowledge of the talks. “But let me make one thing clear: we are not and cannot at this stage consider deploying combat troops.

A Middle Eastern source confirmed that Kuwait had held talks with Pakistan, including on defense procurement, but said it was “not clear that this will amount to a defense pact as such”.

Reuters spoke to four Pakistani sources and one Middle Eastern source, none of whom were authorized to speak on the record.

Pakistan’s military media wing and Kuwait’s Ministry of Information did not respond to requests for comment.

SEEK DEFENSE ALTERNATIVES

Pakistan and the Gulf states have seen the benefits of forging new regional defense pacts over the past year.

Pakistan has a large military and manufactures its own fighter jets. This made it a possible alternative or complement to US protection among the Gulf states as they became more wary of US reliability as an ally.

Pakistan is seen as a safe bet in Kuwait, said a Middle Eastern source familiar with Kuwaiti security planning.

“They’re already in with the Saudis, they have a long history of defense development, they’re Sunni Muslims, they have good relations with the Americans, so it’s not as sensitive as some of the other options,” the source said.

Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are drafting a mutual defense agreement, separate from the one Islamabad has with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Bahrain is interested in a similar pact, one source said, and Jordan has expressed interest in an arms and training deal, three sources said.

SHOE BARRELS

Pakistan sees defense deals with neighboring states as a way to boost the investments the country urgently needs.

As part of a possible deal with Kuwait, Islamabad would like cooperation on energy security – part of a broader push by Pakistan’s energy ministry to boost oil and fuel reserves.

Kuwait is exploring a joint fuel depot with Pakistan that would build on an existing government-to-government diesel supply agreement between the two countries, a Pakistani source familiar with the talks said.

Such offers could still be attractive enough for Pakistan’s leadership to push for a larger defense deal, the two sources said, adding that talks are expected to pick up speed once tensions between the US and Iran ease.

Analysts warned that this could turn out to be wishful thinking. “Pakistan needs to be aware of the dangers of over-commitment,” said Muhammad Faisal, a South Asia researcher at the University of Technology in Sydney.

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