Pakistan Faces Scrutiny Amid Claims of Hidden Defence Commitments to Saudi Arabia

May 23, 2026

Male:  While Pakistan hosted high-stakes negotiations between American envoys and Iranian diplomats in April this year amid the unrest in West Asia, Riyadh publicly announced the arrival of Pakistani military forces and aircraft at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Saudi Arabia under the terms of a defence agreement. Pakistan issued no corresponding statement, but the Saudi announcement immediately raised questions over Islamabad’s claim of neutrality. The apparent diplomatic breakthrough suddenly became entangled with a “secret military obligation” that risked pulling Pakistan into the conflict in West Asia.

A report in Maldivian media outlet Etruth MV cited a detailed investigation by Drop Site News, revealing how the US–Iran ceasefire talks in Islamabad unexpectedly brought Pakistan’s covert military ties with Saudi Arabia into focus. The findings, titled “Leaked Documents Reveal Details of the Secret Saudi Arabia–Pakistan Mutual Defence Pact”, disclosed for the first time the “contents of a classified defence agreement” obligating Pakistan to potentially defend Saudi Arabia in the event of war.

“According to Drop Site, these leaked documents show that while Pakistan was presenting itself as a neutral mediator between Washington and Tehran, it was simultaneously tied to a far-reaching mutual defence pact with Riyadh, an arrangement never presented to Pakistan’s parliament and largely unknown to the public. This revelation fundamentally reshaped the context of the Islamabad talks, raising questions about Pakistan’s neutrality, its strategic vulnerabilities, and the depth of its military commitments to Saudi Arabia,” it detailed.

The 2025 Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stated that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” “Yet the leaked documents and internal assessments suggest the pact is asymmetrical. Pakistan is obligated to defend Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia is not meaningfully committed to defending Pakistan, particularly against India, Islamabad’s primary strategic rival,” it added. The report noted that the leaked documents gained relevance during the US–Iran ceasefire talks hosted by Pakistan in April.

As Islamabad announced a two-week regional pause in hostilities and projected itself as a neutral mediator, Saudi Arabia’s announcement of Pakistani troop deployments — made while US Vice President JD Vance was engaged in talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad — raised concerns over Pakistan’s neutrality. “Drop Site’s reporting shows that Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is far deeper and more binding than publicly acknowledged. The SMDA obligates Pakistan to defend Saudi Arabia in ways that could directly conflict with its diplomatic efforts, domestic politics, and regional security interests. The US–Iran talks in Islamabad brought these contradictions into sharp relief,” it highlighted.