'Saudis can access our nukes': Pakistan minister drops bombshell on live TV

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has said his country’s nuclear capabilities “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia under a new bilateral defence pact.

Asif made the comments on Pakistan’s Geo TV following Wednesday’s signing of the pact between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir in attendance. It’s the first time Islamabad has publicly stated that Riyadh falls under its nuclear security umbrella.

“What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to [Saudi Arabia] according to this agreement,” Asif said. He stressed that if either nation is attacked, the other would respond jointly, although he stopped short of naming specific threats.

“If either Pakistan or Saudi Arabia is attacked from anywhere, it will be considered an attack on both nations,” he said, calling the pact an “umbrella arrangement” of mutual defence.

The move has raised concerns across world capitals, including in New Delhi. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal noted that India’s strategic ties with Saudi Arabia “have deepened considerably” and that India expects its own relationship with Riyadh to be mindful of “mutual interests and sensitivities.”

Indian officials told reporters the agreement was long in the making but had likely been accelerated by Israel’s recent attack on Hamas leaders in Doha. New Delhi views the pact as both a hedge against American retrenchment in the region and a Saudi-Pakistani response to Israel’s increasingly aggressive stance across West Asia.

The historical military relationship between the two countries is not new—Pakistan has provided military expertise and manpower to Saudi Arabia for decades. At one point, up to 20,000 Pakistani troops were stationed in the kingdom.

The latest pact, however, is being seen as a significant elevation, particularly with its implied nuclear dimension—a move likely to draw scrutiny in Washington, Tel Aviv, and New Delhi.