Pakistan weighs balancing US-Iran mediation and Saudi defense obligations

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with US Vice President JD Vance on April 11, as part of high-level direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The meeting took place on the sidelines of talks between the two countries.

Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced that a Pakistani military force had arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base in the kingdom’s Eastern Province under the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA). The deployment included fighter and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, aimed at strengthening joint military coordination and raising operational readiness between the two countries.

Pakistan’s government has not made an official statement about the development. Requests for comment sent by Al Jazeera to the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) were not responded to.

The SMDA represents a commitment from Pakistan to militarily assist Saudi Arabia, which was repeatedly hit by Iran before the ceasefire. Tehran has offered no guarantees it will not strike Saudi Arabia or other Gulf nations again.

Pakistani officials have stated that Islamabad remains committed to facilitating the process for as many rounds of talks as required. Diplomatic contact between all sides continues.

Prime Minister Sharif is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia in the coming days, with visits to other regional countries also likely. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports is now in effect, and the ceasefire brokered by Islamabad between Washington and Tehran is set to expire on April 22.

A visit by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan to Islamabad earlier this week underscored the breadth of the Pakistan-Saudi relationship, spanning defence, diplomacy, and finance. The SMDA was signed in September 2025, committing both countries to treating any act of aggression against one as an act against both.

Pakistan’s position on the agreement has remained consistent, with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar stating that Pakistan had a defence pact with Saudi Arabia “and the whole world knows about it”.

Source: Al Jazeera