Islamabad, September 27, 2025: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has categorically dismissed speculation that Pakistan’s nuclear programme has been included in its recently signed defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, stressing that Islamabad is a “responsible” state and has no plans to transfer nuclear weapons.
Speaking in an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan for Zeteo, Asif was pressed on whether the landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, signed on September 17 in Riyadh, extends a nuclear umbrella to the Kingdom. “We are responsible people,” the minister asserted, declining to divulge classified details but rejecting claims that nuclear technology was part of the pact.
The agreement, signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, commits both nations to view any attack on either country as an act of aggression against both. The deal significantly deepens a security relationship that has spanned decades, including long-standing Pakistani military deployments in the Kingdom.
International media outlets had speculated that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was tied to the pact, particularly following Israel’s airstrikes on Qatar earlier this month that shifted regional security dynamics.
Asked whether the accord was a direct response to the strikes, Asif said talks on the pact had been underway for “a considerable period of time,” and that it merely “formalised” a partnership that had previously been “a bit transactional.”
“Our defence relationship with Saudi Arabia goes back five or six decades,” Asif noted, adding that thousands of Pakistani troops were once stationed in the Kingdom, with a significant presence still maintained.
When pressed again on whether Saudi Arabia is protected by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella, Asif remained cautious: “I won’t go into details, but it is a defence pact — and such agreements are generally not discussed publicly.”
