The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia H.R.H. Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif exchange the documents of the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) in Riyadh on 17 September 2025.

RIYADH 18 Sept 2025: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained a long-standing, strategic defence partnership since the 1950s. It has included military training and advisory support, arms transfers and procurement, intelligence sharing, joint exercises, and high-level political-military coordination — evolving with regional crises (Cold War, Afghan wars, Gulf conflicts) and contemporary security challenges.

The latest agreement in Riyadh between the two countries takes the defence relationship to a new level.

The relationship goes even before creation of Pakistan. In April 1940, immediately after the approval of the Lahore Resolution, the then Crown Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Karachi. He was warmly received by prominent Muslim League leaders such as M.A.H. Asfahani and Kareem Bhai Ibrahim. The delegation included five brothers of Crown Prince Saud, among whom Prince Faisal and Prince Fahd later became rulers of Saudi Arabia.

In 1943, Bengal, a Muslim-majority state, was severely affected by famine. During this time, Muhammad Ali Jinnah of the Muslim League set up relief camps, and King Abdulaziz Al Saud was the first foreign dignitary to donate £10,000 to this cause.

The importance Saudi Arabia gave to Pakistan was evident when just two months after Pakistan’s establishment in November 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah sent his special envoy Malik Feroz Khan Noon to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. King Abdulaziz personally welcomed him and offered his royal plane for the return to Karachi.

The successors of King Abdulaziz also maintained this tradition. In 1954, before going to inaugurate Saudabad colony in Karachi, built with Saudi support for refugees coming from India, King Saud wrote a letter to Pakistan’s Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad stating the importance of a strong Pakistan and affirming that if the Jews attacked the holy land, Pakistan would be at the forefront of its defense, as promised.

In the 1960s, under the leadership of King Faisal, strong foundations of military cooperation were laid. In the 1970s, further steps were taken to enhance economic and military cooperation, and Saudi Arabia provided diplomatic and military support to Pakistan during the 1971 war.

After losing East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), the OIC meeting was held in Lahore in 1974, and during the 1970s Saudi Arabia provided nearly one billion dollars in assistance to Pakistan.

In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan allied with the United States against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

In his memoir "The Afghanistan File," Prince Turki Al Faisal described the intelligence collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan during the Soviet defeat in 1989. During this period, Prince Turki frequently visited Pakistan for briefings at the ISI headquarters and met with Pakistani and American officials involved in the war effort.

The issue of mutual defense had been raised earlier as well. In December 1980, Crown Prince Fahd visited Islamabad and announced that any interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs would be considered interference or aggression in Saudi Arabia’s internal affairs.

When Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in May 1998 in response to India’s tests, Saudi Arabia stood firmly with Pakistan. Saudi Arabia provided emergency financial assistance to Pakistan and supplied oil on deferred payments to counter the negative effects of economic sanctions.

When the devastating earthquake struck Jammu and Kashmir in 2005, Saudi Arabia was the first country to offer help, establishing an air corridor and setting up two state-of-the-art field hospitals for the victims.

Formal military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan began with a defense agreement in 1967. This agreement involved the deployment of Pakistani military advisors and trainers in Saudi Arabia and provided training opportunities for Saudi officers in Pakistani military academies.

A defense agreement in 1982 expanded this cooperation to include deployment of Pakistani troops for defense purposes and training, defense production, and joint exercises.

This military cooperation expanded over the years to a global scale for counter-terrorism efforts, with former Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif serving as commander of a 42-country Muslim coalition against terrorism from 2017.

Last year, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was the guest of honor at Pakistan’s military parade on Pakistan Day and was awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian honor, the Nishan-e-Pakistan.

Due to the changing political situation in the region, including Afghanistan, Iran-Saudi relations, and Gulf affairs, mutual consultations have increased.

Analysts say that the defense cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship that has adapted to various political and security needs of the region. The cooperation is expected to continue in the future, as indicated by Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman’s tweet stating that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan stand together forever against aggression.