Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact:
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have formalized decades of informal military cooperation by signing a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA), a pact that could notably affect India’s national interests in South Asia and the Gulf region.The pact includes a collective defence clause, joint military mechanisms, and intelligence-sharing.For Pakistan, it offers financial lifelines and strategic relevance, while for Saudi Arabia, it provides a hedge against regional threats like Iran, Houthis, and Israel’s aggression.The Saudi-Pakistan defence pact revives historical ties between the two countries, posing a geopolitical challenge to India’s Gulf diplomacy.It may enable Pakistan to leverage its strengthened position with Riyadh to push anti-India narratives on Kashmir within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, complicating India’s influence in the Islamic world.
