By The South Asia Times

Islamabad — The newly signed Pakistan-Saudi “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” has been hailed as a transformative development for regional security and Muslim world solidarity, with analysts describing it as a major recalibration of global power alignments.

Veteran politician Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed welcomed the pact, calling it the realization of his long-standing call for a “Grand Bargain” between Pakistan and oil-rich Muslim states. “Leveraging Pakistan’s military might with Muslim countries’ economic strength, this is a hugely welcome development for the Muslim Ummah, bidding goodbye to West dependency,” he posted on X. He also recalled Pakistan’s historic role in protecting Arab security during the 1973 Arab-Israel war.

Observers say the agreement remedies Pakistan’s historical vulnerabilities. Despite having indigenous defense capabilities, nuclear deterrence, and Chinese weapons support, Islamabad has long struggled with energy shortages and financial pressures during prolonged conflicts.

With Saudi Arabia now pledging guaranteed oil supplies and financial backing, Pakistan’s war-fighting capacity is seen as more sustainable, eroding India’s traditional advantage in a war of attrition, Muhammd Ali of South Asia Watch wrote on X.

For Saudi Arabia, the pact provides a crucial hedge against regional threats and diminishing U.S. reliability. The limitations of American protection, analysts note, were exposed when Israeli missiles crossed Saudi airspace unchallenged earlier this month. By aligning with nuclear-armed Pakistan—experienced in both conventional and irregular warfare—Riyadh secures a partner independent of Washington’s approval.

The agreement also carries broader geopolitical implications. It signals Gulf states’ willingness to diversify security partnerships, curtails Indian strategic assumptions, and offers China a significant strategic gain by linking two of its closest partners—Pakistan and Saudi Arabia—into a defense corridor. This emerging trilateral axis of Chinese arms, Saudi capital, and Pakistani military capability, experts argue, could reshape deterrence across South Asia and the Gulf.

Analysts believe the pact underscores a shifting balance of power, where regional states are seeking to build independent frameworks of security cooperation, reducing reliance on Western guarantees.

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