ISLAMABAD:
Recent Western media reporting on the deployment of Pakistani troops and fighter jets to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is “selective in framing” and “misleading the true essence of long-standing bilateral defense cooperation” between the two brotherly countries, according to security sources.
Reuters, citing unnamed officials, reported on Monday that Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact, increasing military cooperation with Riyadh even as Islamabad acts as the main mediator in the Iran war.
The Reuters coverage lacks broader context and overlooks the institutional, treaty-based and decades-old nature of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia strategic relationship, which is rooted in mutual trust and shared historical obligations, security sources said.
They said Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense cooperation is not episodic or reactionary but part of a structured and enduring framework of partnership that has evolved over several decades. They emphasize that attempts to connect routine deployments and joint arrangements with shifting regional tensions present an incomplete and “distorted narrative.” They say the relationship is rooted in deep religious, cultural, political and economic ties and cannot be viewed through a narrow geopolitical lens.
