Recently, the defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has been signed on the deal. Regarding this deal, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif has said that Pakistan’s nuclear program will be made available for Saudi Arabia if needed. It is clearly clearly recognized under the new defense agreement that Islamabad has placed Saudi Arabia under its nuclear security umbrella.
In an interview of Geo TV late night on 18 September 2025, Asif said that Pakistan’s nuclear capacity is long established and the army is trained for war. He said, “Whatever ability we have, it will be made available to (Saudi Arabia) according to this agreement.”
Significantly, this statement underlines the importance of the defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this week, under which an attack on a country will be considered an attack on both countries. According to analysts, this is a message for Israel, which is considered a single nuclear-armed country of the Middle East.
The nuclear program of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has been connected for a long time. According to retired Brigadier General Firoz Hasan Khan, Saudi Arabia gave adequate financial assistance to Pakistan, which could continue the country’s nuclear program, especially when the US had sanctions.
Pakistan developed its nuclear weapon program against India’s atomic bombs. Currently, according to the US Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, India has around 172 and Pakistan has 170 nuclear warheads.
The move has come amid tension and security concerns in the region, especially during the Israel-Hamas War, which severely affected the Gaza Strip and raised security concerns in the Gulf Arab countries.
