Pakistan Sends Jets to Saudi Arabia Under 2025 Defence Pact
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- Pakistan deployed fighter jets and support aircraft to King Abdulaziz Air Base in Saudi Arabia's eastern province, as announced by the Saudi defence ministry on April 11.
- The deployment followed Iranian strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure, including an April 6 hit on the Jubail petrochemicals complex that killed a Saudi national, three sources told Reuters.
- The move activates a September 2025 mutual defence pact committing both countries to treat aggression against either as an attack on both, significantly deepening their decades-old security partnership.
- A senior Pakistani official, speaking anonymously, said the jets are "not there to attack anyone," with sources noting the deployment aims to reassure Riyadh while protecting Iran peace talks hosted in Islamabad.
- Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan visited Pakistan on April 10 to demonstrate economic support, part of a financial relationship that included a 2018 US$6 billion package — a US$3 billion central bank deposit plus US$3 billion in deferred oil payments.
Why it matters: The pact's activation makes Pakistan a direct military backstop for Saudi Arabia against Iran even as the same government hosts mediation to end that war — a dual role the source notes could pull Islamabad off its neutral footing. Riyadh's financial leverage, anchored by the 2018 US$6 billion package with deferred oil payments and a central bank deposit, gives Saudi Arabia a direct line into Pakistan's strategic posture.
