Pak-Saudi Defence Pact Causes Real Geopolitical Concerns for India

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 27 September 2025 Saudi funds to Pak may be used to fund insurgency in Kashmir. Main Points: 1. 1.Pakistan partnered with the US in war on terror for financial gains. 2. Pak-Saudi defence pact will benefit it financially at the cost of India's security. 3. Pakistan has also defence deal with Nigeria. 4. During the 80s, Pakistan used US funds to strengthen its army. ----- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace after signing a defence agreement in Riyadh on Sept. 17. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters ------ On September 9, 2025, Israel attacked Qatar, a US ally out of frustration over its failure to strike a deal with Hamas for hostage release. The passive response of the US to the aggression by its natural ally Israel, Qatar convened an emergency meeting of 60 Islamic countries in Doha which proved 'full of sound and fury signifying nothing.' When the Doha meeting did not provide any answer to the growing Israeli aggression and the Trump administration was seen as ditching the Arab allies in favour of Israel, Arab countries were compelled to explore alternatives. And exactly after a week, on September 17, Saudi Arabia finalised a defence pact with the only nuclear power among the Islamic countries, Pakistan. According to the deal, an act of aggression against any one will be regarded as an attack on both the allies. This pact put Pakistan on the centre stage of the world politics and was seen as a grand political move by Pakistan while Saudi Arabia hinted at a shift in its foreign policy. It was a message to the US that the Arab countries no longer trust the US as it has left them to defend themselves when Houthis have attacked them. The Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia in 2021 and 2022 and the UAE in 2022. But the US only condemned the Houthis and did not give any military support to its Arab allies. But during Israel 's war with Hamas and Iran, both Joe Biden and Trump not only granted funds and provided arms to Israel but the US sent its B2 bombers to Iran to bomb its nuclear facilities. This hypocrisy of the US forced Saudi Arabia to turn towards Pakistan for security against Israel's aggression against it in future. On the other hand, by clinching a deal with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan has caused a lot of concern for India. From the Pakistan's perspective, the defence pact is being seen in the context of India-Pakistan military confrontation in May when India attacked Pakistan's Noor Khan airbase and caused some serious damages to its nuclear facility. The attacks prompted Trump to intervene to save Pakistan from further destruction. Pakistan became extremely concerned about the vulnerability of its nuclear facilities and started exploring avenues to garner financial gains to strengthen its military power for future eventualities. The Israeli attacks on Qatar provided Pakistan with the golden opportunity to convince Saudi Arabia to enter into a defence pact for mutual benefits. Significantly, on September 18, a day after it signed the defence pact with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan's Air Force Major Gen. Mr Khattak met Nigeria's Air Marshal to extend the defence collaboration between the two countries. The talks for this deal had been going on since April. Pakistan and Nigeria have been defence partners since 2008 during Pervez Musharraf's tenure but this collaboration has been diversified in the last few years. Pakistan also helps Nigeria in counterterrorism against Boko Haram as Pakistan showcases its experience and expertise in fighting terrorism. Therefore, Pakistan has been marketing its military prowess among the Islamic countries. Its nuclear status also helps it to win defence contracts with weaker Islamic countries like Nigeria. The minutes of the defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have not been made public but obviously, Pakistan will gain financially from the deal. Pakistan will demand funds from Saudi Arabia to strengthen and upgrade its military so that it can defend Saudi Arabia's sovereignty in case of any aggression. But in reality, the funds received from Saudis will be channelled, one, to the terrorist outfits present in Pakistan to promote insurgency in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir and intensify anti-India campaign in Bangladesh and, two, to make Pakistan army more powerful against India. In the 80s, Pakistan joined the US campaign against Soviet Russia in Afghanistan in order to get billions of funds from the US for the training of Taliban fighters and used the major part of the funds to strengthen its army. A report of the Human Rights Watch sheds light on Pakistan's shady deal with the US. An excerpt: "During the 1980s, Pakistan, which was host to more than two million Afghan refugees, was the most significant frontline state serving as a secure base for the mujahideen fighting against the Soviet intervention. Pakistan also served, in the 80s, as a US stalking horse: the US, through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), granted Pakistan with discretion in channelling some US $2-3 billion worth of covert assistance to the mujahideen, training over 80,000 of them" Another excerpt of the HRW report: "Because the US granted Pakistan wide discretion in channelling its covert assistance to the mujahideen based in Pakistan, Pakistan was able to give Hikmatyar the lion's share, though not enough to compensate for the group's internal weaknesses." It is evident from these excerpts that in the 80s, the US provided covert financial assistance worth billions of dollars to the Taliban through Pakistan and granted Pakistan wide discretion to use much of the funds to strengthen its own army. That is why, despite being a poor country, Pakistan became a nuclear country with the help of the US and Chinese technology. Pakistan also partnered with the US in its so-called war on terror in the 90s and in the first decade of the 20th century. It gave the US permission to use drones to attack terrorists in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in return for funds. The US used its newly developed drone technology on the people of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It killed more civilians than terrorists but Pakistan's political leadership was only interested in dollars for promoting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and in strengthening the army capabilities in competition with India. After the fall of Saddam Hussain and Qaddafi, the decimation of Osama bin Laden and now after the fall of Bashar al Asad, the US does not need the terrorist organisations and therefore, Pakistan's dependence on terrorism or counterterrorism has also diminished and has ceased to be a steady and big source of income. So, it has now started marketing its nuclear power status and its so called expertise in counterterrorism though in reality it has failed to curb terrorism on its own land. In Nigeria, it could not curb terrorism of Boko Haram. In fact, it has fuelled terrorism so that Nigeria is compelled to prolong its collaboration in counterterrorism with Pakistan. The proof of this claim is the arrest of four ISIS terrorists of Pakistan a few months ago for supplying arms and training to the terrorists. This is the same policy adopted by the US in Islamic countries. It fuels and promotes terrorism in Islamic countries and then launches military operations in the name of fighting terrorism. Pakistan has now started relying on defence cooperation with smaller countries for the defence maintenance and enhancement since its bankrupt economy does not support defence expenses. That is why Pakistan's defence runs its own industries for maintenance, sustenance and growth. Pakistan sells weapons and defence technology to Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iraq. Now Saudi Arabia has joined the club and more gulf states are expected to follow. All the revenue generated from defence collaborations goes into the upgradation and purchase of defence equipment and in funding subversive activities in India and Bangladesh. That is the reason terrorism and insurgency in Kashmir was at the peak in the late 80s and the 90s when Pakistan was collaborating with the US under the cover of the US war on terror. It was freely using billions of dollars meant for Taliban or for fighting terror on its own land. Therefore, the defence pact of Pakistan with Saudi Arabia will now open a source of steady income for Pakistan and Pakistan will not only use the financial assistance to strengthen its military vis a vis India but also fund terrorism and insurgency in Kashmir, North-East and fuel anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh. During the last five years, insurgency and terrorism in Kashmir have been on the decline due to its severe financial crisis. But now Saudi-Pak defence pact may not only boost Pakistan's defence capabilities but also increase its capability to fund terrorism and subversive activities in India. ---- S. Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com. 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