Overview

• Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement on September 17 in Riyadh, stating that any aggression against either will be considered aggression against both.
• Legal readings of the publicly released text note no clear provision for terrorist attacks by non-state actors, leaving allied obligations over such incidents unresolved.
• A video released this week shows Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Qasim acknowledging past training at Muridke and declaring plans for a bigger camp, undermining official denials of safe havens.
• Reporting details Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen shifting from PoK to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after India’s May Operation Sindoor, including a September 14 Mansehra recruitment drive and an announced September 25 event in Peshawar under the name Al-Murabitun.
• Analysts such as Michael Kugelman say the pact bolsters Pakistan’s position but is unlikely to deter Indian counterterror strikes, and Al Jazeera has reported Riyadh views the deal as providing a de facto Pakistani nuclear umbrella.