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PM DEPARTS FOR LONDON AFTER INKING MILESTONE ‘STRATEGIC MUTUAL DEFENCE AGREEMENT’ WITH KSA Friday, 19 September, 2025 | 25 Rabiul Awal, 1447
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PREMIER SHEHBAZ HAILS SAUDI CROWN PRINCE’S ‘VISION, LEADERSHIP’ DURING LANDMARK RIYADH VISIT
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XVI No 72 | 8 Pages | Islamabad Edition
PACT DEEPENS PAK-SAUDI DEFENCE COOPERATION AMID REGIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES
LANDMARK PACT DECLARES ‘ANY AGGRESSION AGAINST EITHER COUNTRY SHALL BE CONSIDERED AN AGGRESSION AGAINST BOTH’
Saudi-Pak defence pact marks shift as Israeli threat and economic concerns converge PROFIT
AbdullAh NiAzi
P
ISLAMABAD
stAff report
RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for London after concluding his state visit to Saudi Arabia, where Pakistan and the Kingdom signed a milestone Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement aimed at deepening security and defence cooperation. Deputy Governor of Riyadh, Prince Muhammad bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, bid farewell to the premier at Riyadh Airport. Pakistani prime minister had travelled to the Kingdom at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The landmark pact, signed at Al-Yamamah Palace during the PM’s one-day visit, declared that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” The agreement, building on nearly eight decades of close ties, seeks to strengthen joint deterrence, expand defence cooperation, and promote security in the region and beyond. According to a Pak-Saudi joint statement, the accord reflects the “shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security, develop aspects of defence cooperation, and achieve peace in the region and the world.” A Saudi official, however, clarified to Reuters that the pact was not meant to respond to any specific event but rather underscored
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia indicates that Saudi Arabia is sensing a legitimate threat of direct action from Israel. The emergency meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Doha ended with condemnations of the Israeli attack on Qatar and calls on the Trump Administration to rein in the Netanyahu government, but without a decision on any sort of joint GCC military retaliation against Israel. As the senior partner in the GCC, Saudi Arabia’s cooperation would have been vital in any such response. The group settled for a joint defence agreement but no immediate action. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman also met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the summit, and another meeting between the two
longstanding strategic cooperation. The agreement comes at a sensitive regional juncture, marked by heightened tensions including Israeli strikes on Qatar. For decades, Pakistani military trainers have served in the Kingdom,
was scheduled for just four days later in Riyadh. The visuals of the Prime Minister’s aircraft being escorted by Saudi fighter jets upon entering the Kingdom’s airspace have gone viral for a reason: such protocol has been unheard of before this. It became immediately clear why this was the case when the two leaders signed an agreement of mutual defence. Very simply put, the agreement binds Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to act in each other’s defence. An attack on one is to be treated as an attack on the other. It is not unimportant in this context that Israeli officials have been mentioning Pakistan by name through different diplomatic channels. The country’s main defence of their attack on Doha was to point towards the US operation in Abbottabad which found and killed Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan’s representatives to the UN have been responding robustly to such claims.
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while Riyadh has provided Islamabad with crucial financial support during economic crises. The latest pact, observers note, significantly elevates the bilateral partnership.
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Four ‘India-sponsored’ terrorists neutralized in Khuzdar’s during IBO: ISPR RAWALPINDI
stAff report
Four “Indian-sponsored terrorists” were killed in a fire exchange with the security forces during an intelligencebased operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district, the military’s media wing reported on Thursday. In a statement issued here, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, “On September 17 2025, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan, on the reported presence of terrorists belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan.” The ISPR statement said that during the operation, “own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” adding that “after an intense fire exchange, four Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell.” Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from slain terrorists, the ISPR said. The terrorists were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” it added. “Sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area,” the statement read. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country and reaffirm the nation’s unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice,” it added. The state has designated Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa-based terror groups as Fitna al-Khawarij and Balochistanbased groups as Fitna al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. A day ago, the ISPR had issued another statement, saying that the armed forces had eliminated five “Indian sponsored terrorists” during an IBO in Khuzdar earlier this week.