ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has termed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia “historic one”, saying several countries had expressed interest in signing same kind of security pact with Pakistan.
Talking to media men in London on Friday, Ishaq Dar said the landmark agreement with Saudi Arabia was not signed overnight, but it took months and went through a due process.
The Deputy Prime Minister said there has always been an informal arrangement between both the countries for the security of Saudi Arabia including the security of Harmain Shareefain.
Responding to a question, Dar said several countries had expressed interest in signing a security pact with Pakistan after it concluded a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia this week, though he stressed such accords take time and do not materialize overnight.
“It is premature to say anything, but many countries desire, after this development, to have a similar arrangement,” Dar said. “However, it takes a due process,” he continued. “It wasn’t signed overnight. It took several months.”
Dar said every word of the agreement had been carefully considered by both sides. He maintained that the two countries were “very happy” about the development, pointing out that Saudi Arabia had always stood with Pakistan in tough circumstances.
“You will recall that their support after the [nuclear] sanctions was very relevant and important,” he said, referring to the international situation for Pakistan that followed its decision to conduct nuclear tests in response to India’s in May 1998.
“Likewise, during the current crises, Saudi Arabia has also played a major role,” he added, citing Pakistan’s recent financial turmoil that brought it close to sovereign debt default and prompted it to enlist support from Saudi Arabia and other friendly countries to unlock an International Monetary Fund bailout.
Dar noted that the people of Pakistan always felt strongly about Saudi Arabia’s security, saying the newly signed pact builds on the same sentiment and years of bilateral partnership.
