Impact of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Defence Pact: A Growing Concern for India

Sun Oct 19 2025 23:30:37 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The recent strategic mutual defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is raising alarms in India. With nuclear implications and regional dynamics at play, analysts weigh the potential consequences for India's security and its diplomatic relations.

Following the signing of a landmark defence pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, concerns are heightened in India regarding national security. Analysts highlight the implications of the agreement, which includes a mutual defense clause, amid historically strained India-Pakistan ties. While some observers downplay immediate threats, others see shifting geopolitical landscapes that could complicate India's strategic position in the region.

When Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan's prime minister, clasped Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh last week, the symbolism was unmistakable.

The embrace followed the signing of a 'strategic mutual defence agreement', bringing the Islamic world's only nuclear-armed state closer to the Gulf's most ambitious monarchy.

A senior Saudi official told Reuters that the pact was merely an 'institutionalisation of long-standing and deep cooperation'. But many in India see it differently.

Despite Delhi's cultivated warmth with Riyadh, the pact lands amid heightened hostility with Pakistan, including a four-day conflict earlier this year. Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars and clashes over Kashmir, making any move by Saudi to underwrite Pakistan's military a direct concern.

What unsettles Indian analysts the most is the pact's commitment that 'any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both'.

Riyadh knew India would construe the Saudi-Pakistan pact as a direct threat to its security, yet it went ahead. Experts warn that a politically unstable and economically broken Pakistan as a security provider is a dangerous proposition, compounding existing tensions in the region.

While some analysts deem the risks overstated, cautioning that India should be wary rather than alarmed, others signal that the pact could reshape regional alignments, complicating India's relations with Saudi Arabia, its second-largest trading partner.

The defence pact not only impacts military ties but also has potential geopolitical implications, with the possibility of strengthening a coalition of nations against India. As India navigates this new reality, the implications for its national security and diplomatic endeavors remain a critical area of focus.