Khawaja Asif rules out nuclear sales under Saudi defence deal

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday dismissed speculation that Pakistan’s landmark defence agreement with Saudi Arabia includes the sale of nuclear weapons, saying that “we are responsible people”.

Riyadh and Islamabad signed a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” on September 17, significantly strengthening a decades-old security partnership, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.

The deal was signed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Riyadh, a week after Israel's strikes on Qatar upended the diplomatic calculus in the region.

After the landmark defence agreement was signed, several international media outlets speculated that Pakistan’s nuclear programme had been made part of the pact — a claim that quickly drew attention and fuelled debate.

During an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan for Zeteo, the defence czar was questioned about the recently signed defence pact. Mehdi asked, “How much of it is a reaction to the Israeli bombing of Qatar?”

In response, Asif clarified that the agreement was not a reaction to the Qatar attack. He emphasised that discussions on the pact had been ongoing for a considerable period of time.

He further said that the pact had “formalised” a relationship between the two countries that was previously “a bit transactional”.

Meanwhile, Mehdi asked: "Is Saudi Arabia protected by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella per this agreement?"

"We have had a very long defence relationship with Saudi Arabia, spanning five or six decades. We had a military presence over there, perhaps more than four or five thousand at the peak and we still have a military presence over there,” Asif responded.

"Formalised with or without the nukes?" Mehdi continued.

However, the federal minister chose not to disclose specifics. “I won’t go into details, but it is a defence pact — and such agreements are generally not discussed publicly,” he said.