Hello everyone, I am a crown.
On September 17, local time, Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, who were visiting Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, suddenly announced that the two countries had signed a treaty Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement。
At first glance, this is not just an advance in bilateral relations within Muslim countries, but the news is enough to shake the entire Middle East.
Although Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have always had a good relationship, there is also a lot of military cooperation between them. However, the content of the agreement reached this time is obviously several levels higher than before.
The agreement clearly states that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan If one country is attacked, the other country is obliged to provide military assistance.。
This provision, in fact the same meaning as NATO countries’ “one country attacked, collective defense”, belongs to the nature of a military alliance.
As a defense alliance between "small countries", what is different from other similar relationships is that Pakistan is a nuclear state.。This is equivalent to saying that Pakistan has provided Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella.
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The friendship between the two countries Not surprising。
After Pakistan was founded in 1947, it quickly fell into war with India.
At the time, as a geographically strong, yet very young multi-ethnic country, in order to enhance national identity, Pakistan attaches great importance to the role of religion, pan-Islamism is an important policy of state administration.
This coincides with Saudi Arabia, which is also a Sunni country and trying to expand its influence in the Muslim world. The two countries soon signed an agreement in 1951 The Saudi Treaty of Friendship becomes a Comprehensive Partnership。
At that time, there was a territorial dispute between Saudi Arabia and South Yemen in the Wadia area, but at that time, Saudi Arabia's own army was not able to fight very well. Therefore, in 1969, after the conflict between Saudi Arabia and South Yemen, a large number of Pakistani pilots were recruited at the first time. The latter assisted Saudi Arabia in capturing Wadia and made great military exploits.
In 1979, over 6,000 people were kidnapped in Saudi Arabia, where the Mosque of Mecca was occupied by armed rebels, and Pakistani special forces helped Saudi Arabia once again to participate in the rebellion and restore order in the Muslim Holy City of Mecca.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has long hired a large number of Pakistan officers to train the army。 During the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, in order to protect the security of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan even stationed tens of thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia. Later, the two countries had a lot of cooperation in anti-terrorism affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After Saudi Crown Prince Salman Jr. declared war on the Houthi armed forces in 2015, although Pakistan did not directly send troops, it also sent a large number of technical personnel to help as usual.
Pakistan helped Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia reciprocated it. After all, both sides really have complementarySex, on the one hand there is force but poverty, while on the other side, although weak, but oil and wealth.
During the three wars between India and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia led neighboring Arab countries to stand on Pakistan's side every time.
(King Faisal of Saudi Arabia set a precedent for providing low-priced oil to Pakistan)
In particular, after the outbreak of the Third Indo-Pakistan War in 1971, Pakistan was defeated in the front battlefield, and the back was extremely tight. Saudi Arabia, although it could not directly provide arms support, but still use its own energy advantage, to provide Pakistan with 50,000 barrels of free oil per day, in addition to giving $10 million in military loans and $1.5 billion in banking inputs, greatly alleviated the fiscal pressure of the Pakistan side.
During Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons, the two hegemonies of the United States and the Soviet Union imposed sanctions on Pakistan, and Pakistan was in a very difficult situation. At this time, Saudi Arabia stood up again and provided financial assistance to Pakistan through the Islamic Development Bank in the 1980s.
On the eve of Pakistan's nuclear test in 1998, there was not enough money, and then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to Saudi Arabia for help. After listening to Nawaz's request, Saudi King Fahd said that as long as a nuclear bomb can be produced Money is not a problem.He added: “Help will exceed your expectations.”
(Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and King Fahd)
Soon, Saudi Arabia withstood pressure from the United States and provided Pakistan with an aid package worth US$3.4 billion. It also sent the Defense Minister to visit the Kahuta uranium enrichment base in Pakistan as a platform for it.
Not only that, Every time Pakistan encounters a major financial crisis or a serious natural disaster, Saudi Arabia will also donate generously。
For example, in 1990, when Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were at a peak and the financial crisis was severe, Saudi Arabia gave it $100 million in donations, $300 million in low-interest loans, $200 million in low-priced oil, its largest aid country.
During the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Great Flood, Saudi Arabia also contributed $3.3 billion and $3.8 billion respectively, far more than any other country.
It can be said that after more than seven decades of friendly interaction, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is unparalleled. Saudi Arabia is out of hand, things are willing to take real gold and silver, Pakistan is faithful and reliable, one thing is out of hand, the level of trust between the two is high, silence is no longer a secret.
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Of course, historical factors are not all that determines current international relations. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will not settle sooner or later. Choosing to worship at this time is also inseparable from the increasingly tense geopolitical situation in recent years.
Although Pakistan is a nuclear-armed regional power with a population of more than 200 million, it has not been free from Poverty is behindThe country's appearance and the internal and external situation are very severe.
(Ranking of per capita GDP of South Asian countries, unit: USD)
Inside, Pakistan’s per capita GDP in 2024 was just $1580, a little better than Nepal and Afghanistan alone in South Asia, at the third lowest level.
Moreover, unlike Bangladesh, which can rely on clothing OEM to solve employment and earn some US dollars and foreign exchange, Pakistan has not developed any large-scale characteristic industries at present. The imbalance of the whole country is prominent, and the local "troublemaking" forces are numerous and powerful, which has a fatal impact on the transit trade and investment environment of the whole country.
In this case, Most Pakistani young adults can only work overseas if they want to earn money。 The Arab oil-producing countries in the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia, are their first choice for working.
(Global distribution of Pakistani expatriates, Saudi Arabia accounts for 62 percent of the total number of expatriates, source: Arab Satellite TV)
According to statistics from the Saudi government, Saudi Arabia has a permanent population of 37 million in 2025, of which more than 15.5 million are foreigners, including 2.23 million from PakistanThey are mostly in Saudi Arabia as construction workers, drivers, security, small businessmen, etc. If you count the workers in the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait, the Gulf country has more than four million Pakistani expatriates.
These expatriates have much higher incomes in the Gulf countries than they do at home, and they export to their homelands. Remittances are also an important source of foreign exchange for Pakistan。
For example, in 2024, the income from remittances brought by Pakistani overseas Chinese in the Gulf will reach US$3.3 billion, accounting for more than 60% of Pakistan's total remittances that year. You know, Pakistan's total foreign exchange reserves in December of the same year were only US$11.3 billion.
(Money is the few ways in Pakistan to earn dollars, source: Pakistan Post)
Not only that, Pakistan is an oil-poor country, and its Arab Gulf countries heavily depend on energy, led by Saudi ArabiaBy 2024, 80 percent of Pakistan’s crude oil imports will come from Saudi Arabia. The price of crude oil is lower than the market priceThe payment cycle in Pakistan could also be extended to 6 to December.
It can be said that without Saudi Arabia's low-priced oil, it would be difficult for Pakistan's economy and people's livelihood to revitalize.
It is not difficult to see that Pakistan is economically inseparable from the Saudi-led Gulf State’s support. Pakistan has chosen to alliance with the wealthy Saudi, and obviously has huge economic needs.
Source: Al Jazeera
Of course, an alliance with Saudi Arabia could also strengthen Pakistan's ability to confront India. After all, Saudi Arabia has fully supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan can also use Saudi Arabia's position in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Muslim world to increase its bargaining chip with India in terms of energy and diplomacy.
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Look at Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is an oil-rich country, and its concerns are mainly in security field。
As a country with two holy cities, Mecca and Medina, and enjoys a high status among Sunni countries, Saudi Arabia Always had the idea of being the Arab big brother or even the hegemon of the Muslim worldEspecially after the former Arab leaders of Egypt fell into chaos due to the color revolution.
GCC, an important force for Saudi Arabia to enhance its influence in the Arab world
Not to mention “power”, only from “Orthodoxy”, “Legitimacy”, Saudi wants to be “the boss”, then it has to “start” between the two groups of relations.
In the conflict between the two mainstream factions of the Islamic world, Sunni and Shi’ite, the Shi’ite leader is undoubtedly Iran, where Saudi Arabia wants to take the lead among the Sunni forces and play with Iran. Especially after the Sunni government in Yemen is driven out of the capital by Shi’ite Houthi armed forces, Saudi Arabia leads a group of young brothers and surrounds the Houthi armed forces.
The other one, of course, is on the Palestinian-Israeli issue. Because of this, no matter how good the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States is, Saudi Arabia must clearly support Palestine on the surface. Even if they are not directly involved in the conflict, at least in terms of attitude, this principle cannot change.
But the bad thing is, Saudi Arabia's own military strength cannot maintain its national will。
Changes in Saudi military spending in recent years: Billion Dollars
Saudi Arabia has no military ambition.。
Back then, whether it was the Iran-Iraq War or the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia was the "mortal position" where gods fought, afraid that the protagonist of the duel would scratch him. Later, Saudi Arabia realized that it could not always be in this position. If it wanted to be the boss, it was not enough to have "righteousness" alone, but also "strength".
However, Saudi Arabia now has an army that costs tens of billions of dollars a year, and a large amount of luxury equipment purchased from Europe and the United States. The actual combat effectiveness is not satisfactory。
The most representative one is of course War on Houthis armed forces.。
In the face of the Houthis armed with backward equipment, mainly tribal soldiers, the multinational forces led by Saudi Arabia seemed to be supposed to launch a crush, but as a result Repeatedly defeated, fought by Houthi armed guerrillas.。
Not only did the initially developed plans to recover Sanaa and Hodeida fail, but the mountains of the Saudi border provinces of Asir, Nizhny Novgorod and Jizhan have instead become "war zones", often attacked by Houthi armed forces, and even large cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah have eaten Houthi missiles. Saudi Arabia was forced to announce a unilateral ceasefire in 2020, essentially ending its armed intervention in Yemen.。
In 2020, the remains of a Houthi missile dropped in Riyadh
What’s worse, Saudi security threats are not just Houthis armed. In the east, the potential risk of conflict in the Persian Gulf region is increasing as the U.S. and Iranian games get harsher. In the northwest, the conflict in Pakistan has intensified, and Israel’s aggressive atmosphere has also left Saudi Arabia behind.
while The United States, which shoulders the heavy responsibility of Saudi Arabia's security, is less reliable.。Especially in the face of conflicts of interest between its "pro-son" Israel and Arab countries, the United States will obviously ignore the latter's interests. This incident can be seen from the Israeli air strike on Qatar in early September, but the United States tacitly connived without notice.
It can be said that over the past few years, Saudi Arabia is well aware of its actual combat capabilities. Its dream of leading the Arab and Muslim worlds in military strength is somewhat disillusioned. Give up treatment.Well, your own strong army can’t get stronger, at least find a new “strength”.
In this case, Pakistan is a good choice for Saudi Arabia.
Although Pakistan is not a victorious army, it has accumulated a wealth of real war experience in the years of confrontation with India, (Pakistan) the Taliban, the Balochistan rebels and other forces.
Not to mention that in recent years, the Pakistani army Modernized combat capabilitiesA significant increase, especially in May 7th air battleAfter his amazing performance, he left a deep impression on the entire Muslim world. They play their values and status.。
It can be said that Saudi Arabia invoked Pakistan as a "security guarantee" this time, which actually amounts to Leading recognized Pakistan’s outstanding military power in the “friend circle”— You see, my Sunni country is not entirely combatable with Ferra, and there are little Bar brothers who can fight like this!
In addition to conventional combat capabilities, Pakistan's intervention is the only option that can effectively curb Israel's nuclear weapons superiority.
Coverage of Pakistan's nuclear forces, source: CSIS think tank
On the day of the Saudi alliance, Pakistani Defense Minister Hwaja Asiv made it clear: Pakistan's nuclear power "can be provided" to Saudi Arabia if it needs it。
This is a real interest, Pakistan can now support overseas countries. The Nuclear Umbrellaand .
Previously, it was only the “gross” that could do it. The world is really changing fast., when it comes to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Each has close ties with the United StatesBut whether it is the 1957 air war, or the recent conflict in the Middle East, it is not difficult for them to find the key moments, the pinnacle of conflict of interests, in their hands. American equipment may even be "refused to use", and the so-called United States The "alliance policy" is by no means equal, but divided into high and lowThe United States has no psychological burden at all when sacrificing "low-level allies" for "high-level allies". In this case, who dares to entrust the country's life and death matters to the United States for protection?
It is better than asking. No matter who is promoting world multipolarityLet's not talk about helping the venue, at least we can be happy to see it happen.
References:
半岛电视台-Saudi Arabia signs mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan
Pakistan Secures $1.2 Billion Saudi Oil Facility to Boost Energy Sector and Forex Reserves
Arabnews-Pakistan’s remittances hit record $31.2 billion in current fiscal year, led by Saudi inflows