Saudi Arabia | Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has strongly condemned Houthi attacks on civilian and economic targets in Saudi Arabia, calling for immediate de-escalation and the restoration of a credible political process to resolve the conflict in Yemen.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reaffirmed deep appreciation for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s steadfast support and generous assistance to Pakistan, and its pivotal role in promoting peace and stability in the region.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan is keen to elevate its economic relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a mutually benefi­cial strategic economic partnership in line with the vision of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia will form political and military mechanisms under a defence pact signed between the regional powers last week, Turkiye’s defence ministry said on Thursday, adding the alliance would also deepen defence industry cooperation. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed last week as the Middle East grapples with fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has dragged in regional players and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. At a weekly briefing in Ankara, the ministry said the mechanisms would include the three countries’ defence ministers, foreign ministers, and military chiefs. It added that the joint military exercises were also being planned under the pact, while cooperation could include joint production and technology sharing in the defence industry. The remarks come a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he hoped more countries would join the agreement. “Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries,” th...

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Sunday said plans were underway to launch a scheme with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar for oil storage to strengthen energy security. Pakistan has been planning to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, it emerged in May. With no strategic petroleum reserves, the country has been left exposed to oil supply shocks resulting from the US-Iran war that has choked supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Addressing a press conference in Lahore today, Malik said: “I am grateful to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar that we will have a bonded scheme with them, under which these countries will store their oil on the secure territories of Pakistan at their own cost, and supply to the entire world from here.” He added that Pakistan will have the right that in the case of a conflict, it could “buy those resources from them by paying for them and fulfil our needs”. The minister said the “commercial bonded scheme draft...

Firefighters extinguished a fire that broke out early on Sunday at a facility at Aramco’s Jazan refinery in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Energy Ministry said, adding that there were no injuries. Aramco’s industrial security teams had brought the fire under control and the relevant authorities were completing procedures to deal with the incident, the ministry said on X. It did not say what caused the fire. The Jazan refinery processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces refined products including gasoline and ultra-light sulfur diesel. Aramco shut down the refinery on July 27 following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that damaged the plant’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) complex and tank farm area, according to a note from consultancy IIR seen by Reuters. The Houthis said at the time they had struck Aramco sites in Jazan and Yanbu. The attacks raised the prospect that threats to Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil infrastructure could widen global disruption stemming from th...

LAHORE - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned home on Saturday afternoon after completing his official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif returned home on Saturday afternoon after completing his official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha on Saturday welcomed the signing of the “Mecca Agreement on Joint Defence” between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye.

Makkah joint defence pact signed on Friday in holy city amid conflicts and military tensions in region PM Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan meet in Makkah to formalise joint agreement A paper agreement will not bring security to Saudi Arabia, reacts Tehran Pakistan, KSA, Türkiye united.

• MBS, Shehbaz, Erdogan sign Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to boost ‘collective deterrence against any aggression’ • PM hopes accord will serve as ‘shield of peace’; Erdogan says alliance is open to other friendly nations • Saudi minister insists new bloc no threat to ‘any country’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence pact in the holy city of Makkah, which empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which seeks to strengthen the collective security of the three states, was signed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and PM Mohammad bin Salman, and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Al-Safa Palace. The signing of the agreement was announced by three countries through a joint statement, which was published by Pakis­tan’s Foreign Office (FO) and Saudi Arabia’s official SPA press agency. It said the pact reflected the three countries’ “shared commitment to further...

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, committing to enhanced collective security, expanded defence cooperation and closer strategic coordination among the three countries.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence pact in Makkah that empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement aimed at strengthening “collective deterrence against any act of aggression”, the Foreign Office (FO) said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and PM Mohammed bin Salman, and Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact after the “Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence” was held at the Al-Safa Palace. The agreement reflects the three countries’ “shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future”, the FO said. “The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states s...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday arrived in Jeddah on a visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening for a three-day visit. Apart from CDF Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi are also accompanying the premier on the visit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is currently in Saudi Arabia after concluding a visit to Jordan, will be part of the delegation as well. In a post on X, the government said the premier landed in Jeddah and was received by Deputy Governor of Makkah Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz at the airport. Saudi Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Environment Engineer Abdulrahman and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq were also among the officials present to greet PM Shehbaz. The premier will also perform Umrah and visit Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque in Madina during the visit, the government said. Earlier, FO...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday left for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will be accompanied by the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. In a post on X, the government said that the premier has left for the visit at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Apart from CDF Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi will also accompany the premier on the visit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is currently in Saudi Arabia after concluding a visit to Jordan, will be part of the delegation as well. The premier will also perform Umrah and visit Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque in Madina during the visit, the government said. Earlier, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi announced the visit in a weekly briefing. “During the visit, the prime minister will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussions will focus on consolidating the Pa...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a one-day official visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, with regional security, the evolving situation in the Gulf, the Yemen conflict, and progress in the US-Iran negotiations expected to dominate.

Saudi Arabia has appointed Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy as its new ambassador to Pakistan, replacing Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, as the two longtime allies continue to expand cooperation in defence, investment and regional security amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Houthi rebels claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, hours after vowing to retaliate against the kingdom for attacks as the Middle East conflict expanded. Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on Friday, with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships. The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route. The rebels had accused Saudi Arabia of a “dangerous escalation” and said its actions “will not go unanswered”. The Houthis’ Ansarollah media said on Telegram early on Saturday that a “Yemeni missile strike” had sparked fires in the southern Saudi city of Jizan on the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. But Riyadh’s civil defence agency had issued brief warnings to residents in Jizan and Yanbu early ...

The United States on Wednesday announced a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia that would establish a civilian nuclear programme in the Gulf country, with Washington insisting the agreement includes non-proliferation safeguards. The move comes as the United States under President Donald Trump fights a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns with Tehran’s nuclear programme — an issue that remains a key point of contention during now-stalled peace talks. Two agreements — one on “peaceful nuclear cooperation” and another on “bilateral safeguards” — were signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the US Energy Department said. The text of the deals was not immediately made public. “Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear non-proliferation,” the department said in a statement. A provision in the deal ...