As Iran, Israel and the US move toward intensifying conflict, we are confronted with a profound moment of strategic significance, i.e., in a moment of crisis, can alliances developed over decades persist, or will trustworthiness stumble when it is most needed? These situations demand more than military competence; they are about the discipline of leadership, the conformity of strategic obligation, and the consistency with which a nation defines its long-term national interest.
Our domestic frustrations of rising inflation, petrol prices, and economic hardship are genuine and unyielding. At the same time, on the foreign policy front, decisions, especially concerning defence-related strategic partnerships, cannot be determined merely by public sentiment or short-term domestic political pressures. The statecraft mandates a prospect measured in decades, balancing immediate challenges with preserving strategic requirements.
Our relationship with Saudi Arabia over many generations has been nourished on mutual trust, shared values, security cooperation, and economic partnership. This relationship has weathered wars, political transitions, and global realignments. Our partnership with the kingdom is not just ceremonial but of a strategic nature. It is the very guarantee to ensure the mutual coordination, dependability, and credibility in moments of predicament. We have a defence pact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many reasons. The defence understandings exist, and of course, they carry serious expectations. Developing credibility in international politics is the ultimate result of the shared collaborations, developed slowly through harmonious action, and it can be diluted rapidly through reluctance and hesitation.
Today, Pakistan is in a unique position as its strategic role, enhanced by U.S. support, operational expertise, and partnership with China, allows it to act as a stabilising actor in the Gulf.
Of course, no one is advocating abandoning the national judgment over honouring alliances. It is for the leadership to decide whether the cooperation under the alliance is strengthening Pakistan’s strategic interests or entrapping the nation in unnecessary conflict. Strategic prudence demands calibration where security apparatus translate into capacity building, i.e., training, logistical support, cybersecurity, intelligence sharing, or defensive coordination without resorting to war.
Today, the Middle East is defined by a strategic geopolitical triangle between Iran, Israel, and the United States. Israel considers Iran as a threat, citing its nuclear arsenal, missile programs, and a network of regional proxies, such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, etc., therefore, justifying its doctrine of preventative deterrence. The United States wants to restrict Iran while defending its regional allies, as the majority of GCC countries are US allies, and preserving the established Middle East order. Iran has asymmetric capabilities compared to the US and Israel, i.e., missiles, drones, proxies, and cyber tools, etc., to indicate strength, prevent hostility, and increase the cost of aggression. The resulting tensions of this geopolitical triangle not only compromise global energy flows, trade, and financial stability, but also directly affect Pakistan, because of our reliance on GCC energy imports and diaspora foreign remittances.
Pakistan’s credibility in regional security operations has further significantly enhanced after battlefield experience and recent operational success against India. As a nuclear state, Pakistan cannot afford to be a bystander; our modern military capabilities, developed over decades, position us to play a purposeful role. For instance, immediately, we can assist and help Saudi Arabia in neutralising drones, missiles, and aerial threats as Pakistan’s Air Force successfully demonstrated drone neutralisation along with its cyber warfare expertise during the 9th May war with India. Moreover, even Iran accepted Pakistan’s stabilising influence after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, emphasising Islamabad’s potential role as a strategic negotiator.
There is also a need to analyse our historical decision and cooperation context with Saudi Arabia. During the Saudi-led Yemen intervention in 2015, the Kingdom requested our military cooperation, but we took the matter before Parliament to achieve consensus. Unfortunately, we could not help Saudi Arabia. Had Pakistan’s professional armed forces intervened, then surely the rift amongst GCC brotherly countries would have been avoided. Today, the situation is more critical as tensions within the Middle East demonstrate that coherent alliances and institutionalised cooperation are vital to the strategic stability of Saudi Arabia.
We have also witnessed in 1998, during our historic nuclear tests, a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia that went beyond security. When Pakistan faced international isolation and sanctions, Saudi Arabia provided all the critical financial and fuel support. These historical contexts show that our relationships with KSA are tested not only in war but in times of economic and strategic susceptibility.
As a nuclear-armed state, we fully understand that we carry intensified strategic responsibilities. Trustworthy alliances together with measured restraint strengthen deterrence while avoiding escalation. We must consider our nuclear posture together with broader regional stability while making decisions about cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Simultaneously, Pakistan can further enhance its strategic leverage as we are witnessing a strong relationship with the United States. President Donald Trump repeatedly praised our Premier and Field Marshal. This strategic leverage, together with our strategic cooperation with China, can play an important role as we are acceptable to KSA, USA, and Iran. Moreover, Pakistan’s military capabilities, i.e., conventional, aerial, and cyber, position itself as a stabilising partner capable of supporting Saudi Arabia against missile and drone threats while preserving stable relations with Iran.
There is a need to understand that strategic obligations and alliances cannot be dictated through domestic pressure. Of course, there are domestic challenges, a rising inflationary pressure, unprecedented increase in petrol prices, and public frustration, all of which demand empathetic governance. But still, these cannot dictate our strategic discretion. Economic hardship must be addressed through governance and policy measures.
This war even made the wealthiest Gulf states (United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain) realise that wealth alone cannot assure security. Similarly, Pakistan must also balance its economic management with strategic credibility.
Finally, there is a need to ensure that Saudi-Pak relations go beyond personalities and politics. We need to institutionalise this alliance and cooperation across militaries, economic bodies, education, and social programs, etc., in order to ensure permanency across political cycles. The risks of policy fluctuations can be avoided through strengthening formal mechanisms, shared collaboration, and joint initiatives.
The crown prince Muhammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030 offers strategic modernisation, and these are economic diversification, social liberalisation, and institutional restructuring. Pakistan can learn, implement and leverage these insights for joint economic, technological, and social programs while strengthening strategic alignment.
The Saudi relationship will always go beyond any economic or military agenda, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the kingdom carries a moral and spiritual dimension that echoes with our national individuality and obligations.
Honouring commitments always helps in preserving Credibility. Our challenge lies not in choosing between alliances and national interest but in aligning them. Honouring commitments under the defence pact with Saudi Arabia will definitely strengthen our credibility; while managing relationships with Iran will preserve regional stability; and ultimately, exercising prudence ensures nuclear and conventional deterrence remains credible.
Today, Pakistan is in a unique position as its strategic role, enhanced by U.S. support, operational expertise, and partnership with China, allows it to act as a stabilising actor in the Gulf.
The principle of elite statecraft is clear: alliances must be honoured, sovereignty must be protected and upheld at all costs, and regional stability must be pursued through calibrated engagement. Comparative historical analysis is clear that countries expand strategic space not by withdrawing from partnerships but by managing them wisely through proper engagement and dialogue. Reliability in strategic partnerships and alliances builds influence. For Pakistan, this elite-level strategy ensures it remains a credible, responsible, and influential, trustworthy partner in an increasingly turbulent Middle East.
The writer is a political economist and policy strategist shaping discourse on principled leadership, economic sovereignty, and long-term governance.