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July 31, 2026

Pakistan Condemns Attacks against Saudi Arabia, Backs Kingdom’s Right to Defend Itself 

Islamabad: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday condemned attacks against Saudi Arabia by what he described as “non-state actors,” stating that Islamabad backed the Kingdom’s right to defend itself under the United Nations (UN) charter as regional tensions rise. 

The statement came a day after Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry announced on Wednesday that it had struck Iran-backed “terrorist” militias in Iraq. The strikes were carried out jointly with the US after drones launched from Iraq attempted to target oil facilities in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province and Riyadh were intercepted by Saudi Arabia earlier this week. 

Major General Turki Al-Malki, the Saudi defense ministry’s spokesperson, said the “terrorist” attacks originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by Iran-backed militias.

“The attacks, particularly from non-state actors against Saudi Arabia, are utterly condemnable,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during a weekly press briefing. “Pakistan has issued strong statements on it. Our prime minister has also eloquently spoken about it.”

Andrabi cited the Saudi defense ministry’s statement that Riyadh had intercepted and destroyed drones that attempted to target its oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh, and that these attacks originated from Iraq.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Andrabi said. “So, we respect that right.”

In response to another question, Andrabi said Pakistan will implement its defense pact with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a historic defense pact in September 2025. The pact establishes a collective security framework declaring that any aggression against either country will be considered an aggression against both.

Pakistan and Kuwait also signed a bilateral defense cooperation agreement in June 2023 which was recently ratified by the latter. The agreement provides a comprehensive institutional framework for expanding defense cooperation through military training and education, joint exercises, exchanges of expertise and other mutually agreed areas of collaboration.

When asked whether the framework is similar to the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) that Pakistan signed with Saudi Arabia last September, Andrabi clarified the structural differences.

“It is not similar, in the sense that one is called the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement and this, with Kuwait, is the defense cooperation agreement. The name is self-explanatory.”

Addressing questions on implementation mechanisms during times of conflict, the spokesperson emphasized that these obligations prioritize proactive peacetime engagement.

“We will fulfil our obligations. But these defense agreements do not mean that there has to be a war before they are activated,” he said, adding that the substance of these agreements is geared toward peacetime cooperation.

“When war takes place, the two sides will then see how far these agreements are to be implemented.”

Dismissing the notion that military pacts undermine Islamabad’s diplomatic credibility, Andrabi asserted that peacekeeping and defense partnerships run on parallel tracks.

“Mediation and defense cooperation are not mutually contradictory,” he said. “When we say that we are the mediators and we have a defense cooperation agreement, the two roles do not cut across each other.” – Arab News

Courtesy Arab News

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