Pakistan-Saudi Defence Pact a Strategic and Revolutionary Development: Sardar Masood Khan
Islamabad: Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and seasoned diplomat Sardar Masood Khan has termed the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence agreement a major strategic and revolutionary development in the region.
In a television interview, he said the pact has not only made Pakistan and Saudi Arabia more secure but has enabled both countries to pool their strengths and resources to build an effective joint defence. “Under this agreement, if India attacks Pakistan, it will be considered an attack on Saudi Arabia and vice versa,” he remarked.
Sardar Masood Khan highlighted that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share decades-long ties and that Riyadh has always supported Islamabad in difficult times. He noted that because of the Haramain Sharifain, Saudi Arabia holds deep reverence for the people of Pakistan.
Referring to the September 9 Israeli attack on Qatar, he said the strike was not accidental but part of a calculated plan aimed at undermining Palestinian negotiators present in Doha to discuss a US-brokered peace proposal at the invitation of Qatar’s Prime Minister. “Through this attack, Israel sabotaged the negotiation process, bought more time to tighten its grip on Gaza and signalled that it no longer needs the Abraham Accords to pressure Gulf states,” he said, warning that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had repeatedly threatened to target Hamas representatives anywhere in the world despite US assurances to Gulf allies.
Sardar Masood Khan lamented that while over 200,000 people have been martyred and thousands wounded in Gaza, the Muslim world has yet to take collective action, whereas public protests in Western countries are louder and more consistent. He attributed this to Muslim states being bound by agreements and relationships with Western powers that limit their independent decision-making.
He pointed out that there is no NATO-style joint defence mechanism in the Muslim and Arab world, despite past proposals for a collective defence shield. Existing platforms such as the OIC, the Arab Cooperation Council and the Arab League are non-military in nature. “In this context, the new Pakistan-Saudi defence cooperation is of immense strategic importance and indirectly enhances the security of other Gulf states as well,” he observed, adding that if expanded, it could evolve into a future joint defence system.
Commenting on possible Israeli and Indian reactions, Sardar Masood Khan said Israel had named Pakistan three times since the attack on Qatar, which is not coincidental. “Israel views Pakistan as its rival because it is the only nuclear power in the Muslim world,” he said. He added that India is fearful of the agreement as it has previously cooperated with Israel in hostile actions against Pakistan, and the new pact has thwarted its designs. According to reports, India had been planning an attack on Pakistan to avenge its recent military setbacks, but the Pakistan-Saudi defence agreement has scuttled those plans.
