Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan invoked its strategic defence arrangement with Saudi Arabia to deter further Iranian strikes during the recent escalation involving missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.

 

Addressing a media briefing at the Foreign Office, he said, “The position in KSA is relatively stable.” He had made similar remarks earlier in the Senate.

 

Referring to the Pak-Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September last year, Dar said, “We have a strategic mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia. Everyone knows about that, it is a sovereign agreement and we are bound by that.”

 

He added, “In view of that agreement, while in Saudi Arabia I immediately sensitised the leadership of Iran that they should keep that in mind.”

 

The agreement states that an act of aggression against one country will be treated as an act against both and outlines cooperation in deterrence, defence coordination, intelligence sharing and security collaboration.

 

Dar said Iranian officials had sought assurances that Saudi territory would not be used for attacks against Iran. “They asked for some assurances that their soil shouldn’t be used against Iran. I then had shuttle communication with both Iranian and Saudi sides and got them those assurances,” he said.

 

“And look, unlike all other countries, Saudi Arabia faced the least attacks other than Oman that was the mediator,” he added.

 

Commenting on the nature of the strikes, he added Iran had stated it targeted US bases. “Iran says we have attacked American bases. The missiles were not exactly hitting US bases or installations, they also instead fell on airports, hotels, residential areas,” he said.

 

He also provided details about Pakistani nationals in the region. One Pakistani citizen was killed in Abu Dhabi during the hostilities, he said, without elaborating.

 

According to Dar, around 350,000 Pakistanis reside in Qatar, while about 1,400 who travelled there for short visits are stranded due to flight disruptions. “Our mission is facilitating them. We are thankful to the Qatari government for its cooperation,” he said.

 

In Iraq, approximately 40,000 Pakistanis are present, including 3,500 pilgrims. Around 500 in the Kurdistan region have expressed a desire to return, and arrangements are being coordinated.

 

He said Saudi Arabia hosts about 2.5 million Pakistanis. In Kuwait, 101,000 nationals reside, with 27 visitors currently stranded. About 134,000 Pakistanis live in Bahrain and 18,000 in Jordan, with no reports of stranded individuals in those countries.