Pakistan-Saudi Arabia mutual defense pact: News & Discussion

[Tariq Habib Afridi]

LOL. What is wrong with that? Have you seen the amount of Pakistani and South Asian beggars in Makkah and Madinah and KSA as a whole? It is a massive problem and even an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Makkah itself, large parts of it, were a total dump because illegals, people without any papers (they themselves destroyed it so they could not be send back to their countries of origin) built illegal slum areas. There was an entire city of illegal Rohingyas alone not very far from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Such was the state of affairs. Due to the huge influence that the Saudi Arabian clergy once yielded, all of this was permitted due to Islamic solidarity. Basic rules were never implemented because those illegals were all largely Muslim. No matter how much it destroyed Makkah (the city) and local life etc.

This was the situation for decades with more and more such people arriving. Until the government finally had enough and started razing those slums to the ground in order to be able to develop the city. The problem was particular severe in Makkah, less so Madinah, which also explains why Madinah is better off as a city overall.

Those were the illegal slums in questions:

View attachment 170731

View attachment 170732

View attachment 170733

Makkah itself is already by far the hottest city in KSA, extremely difficult geography to built on and in due to the mountainous and tough terrain, dense population and location of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (that cannot be moved) and the way the city has multiplied in terms of size and population in the past decades. As well as past bad planning of newer parts of the city.

I have seen 10's of such threads on this very forum where Pakistanis are complaining about the behavior of fellow Pakistanis.

Even the Pakistani government officially warned Pakistanis from begging and similar practices.

Even anti-KSA media like this has been reporting it:

Pakistan issues measures to combat beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia under Umrah visas

Pakistan’s government has implemented measures to clamp down on begging by some of its nationals in the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s recent urging of Islamabad to tackle t…

www.middleeastmonitor.com

Every single week KSA on average deports 20.000 illegals. Al it requires is a simple google search. Nowadays the largest group are Africans, in particular Horners and East Africans. KSA is literally being overrun, as is even small Houthi-controlled North Yemen.

Leave this topic that is the issue with every muslim state..even pakistani are same.. they will treat a green USA passport with utmost respect and bash the local or people from other poor countries.. However, i am literally embarrass for this begger and illegal pakistani destroying the image of whole pakistan. very unfortunately it is true.. Respect is earned only if we have behaved properly

 

[_Arabia_]

A small example of this was my Umrah to Saudi Arabia last year. As I was exiting the Madinah airport, a Saudi security lady accosted me and demanded what I am doing there. I said I have a visa. She said with a stern tone "Show me the visa". I showed her the Visa and as soon as she saw it was a visa for an American passport, her demeanor instantly changed and she said with a softer tone "Oh United States ? Welcome welcome".

LOL. What is wrong with that? Have you seen the amount of Pakistani and South Asian beggars in Makkah and Madinah and KSA as a whole? It is a massive problem and even an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Makkah itself, large parts of it, were a total dump because illegals, people without any papers (they themselves destroyed it so they could not be send back to their countries of origin) built illegal slum areas. There was an entire city of illegal Rohingyas alone not very far from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Such was the state of affairs. Due to the huge influence that the Saudi Arabian clergy once yielded, all of this was permitted due to Islamic solidarity. Basic rules were never implemented because those illegals were all largely Muslim. No matter how much it destroyed Makkah (the city) and local life etc.

This was the situation for decades with more and more such people arriving. Until the government finally had enough and started razing those slums to the ground in order to be able to develop the city. The problem was particular severe in Makkah, less so Madinah, which also explains why Madinah is better off as a city overall.

Those were the illegal slums in questions:







Makkah itself is already by far the hottest city in KSA, extremely difficult geography to built on and in due to the mountainous and tough terrain, dense population and location of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (that cannot be moved) and the way the city has multiplied in terms of size and population in the past decades. As well as past bad planning of newer parts of the city.

Now compare to not very far from Makkah itself (countryside):

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Discover Ash Shafa Village in Saudi Arabia, from the stunning views of Al Shafa Mountain to Ash Shifa Park, Reef Cafe, and the Golden White Hotel.

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I have seen 10's of such threads on this very forum where Pakistanis are complaining about the behavior of fellow Pakistanis.

Even the Pakistani government officially warned Pakistanis from begging and similar practices.

Even anti-KSA media like this has been reporting it:

Pakistan issues measures to combat beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia under Umrah visas

Pakistan’s government has implemented measures to clamp down on begging by some of its nationals in the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s recent urging of Islamabad to tackle t…

www.middleeastmonitor.com

Every single week KSA on average deports 20.000 illegals. Al it requires is a simple google search. Nowadays the largest group are Africans, in particular Horners and East Africans. KSA is literally being overrun, as is even small Houthi-controlled North Yemen.

Leave this topic that is the issue with every muslim state..even pakistani are same.. they will treat a green USA passport with utmost respect and bash the local or people from other poor countries.. However, i am literally embarrass for this begger and illegal pakistani destroying the image of whole pakistan. very unfortunately it is true.. Respect is earned only if we have behaved properly

It has nothing to do with that. There are (from what I am aware of) no illegal Americans in the 1000's who are flooding KSA or any American beggars in KSA in large numbers. Similarly African-Colombians do not raise suspicion as much as Ethiopians do etc. Skin color has nothing to do with anything.

Compare treatment of the average Afghan in Pakistan (visitor or worker alike) with that of Western tourists.

KSA has reason to be suspicious (officials) of certain nationalities due to the actions of a minority and bad apples among those nationalities or patterns of behavior. To ignore that would be irresponsible. They should continue doing that until proven otherwise. Asking for ID is not a crime either nor an insult. If you have nothing to hide you show your ID and are then left alone.

EDIT: @Watandar I can literally find post of yours that say exactly what I have written, so not sure why you are suddenly not in agreement. So you know just as well as me that what I have written is the ground reality as you yourself have seen it.

 

[ARMalik]

other obvious ifs and buts a side if Saudi does buy jf17 then i think we can say the pact is something and not a negotiation tactic for Saudi . also i think we might have ISI agents in Reuters lmao

Saudis are not going to buy JF-17s for themselves - they will buy it for the Pak-Saudi Defence requirements since if they expect Pakistan to defend them, they have to pay for all the additional equipment and fighter jets for Pakistan Forces deployed in Saudi Arabia.

 

[Tariq Habib Afridi]

Saudis are not going to buy JF-17s for themselves - they will buy it for the Pak-Saudi Defence requirements since if they expect Pakistan to defend them, they have to pay for all the additional equipment and fighter jets for Pakistan Forces deployed in Saudi Arabia.

and they will be placed in saudi ? specialized base for PAF?

 

[ARMalik]

and they will be placed in saudi ? specialized base for PAF?

How else can Pakistan defend them if someone attacks SA??

 

[Oscar]

So it has nothing to do with race or skin color but more with socioeconomics whenever it occurs. Which was exactly my point and was always the case in Arabia/Arab world and remains the case even among locals/citizens and Arabs alike.

Which is normal given, unfortunately, the large amount of Pakistanis who are not doing their people or country any service. From illegals, criminal elements, beggars to similar lot. We are talking about a minority here overall, without a doubt, but it only requires a small group of people to get a bad reputation among certain circles.

With most Pakistanis and Bangladeshis being manual labor (that changing for the better and in general that segment of ANY labour, Arab included, being reduced for various reasons), some even illiterate, it is not that strange that SOME have predisposed opinions and act differently compared to say an American professor or a European bank director. It is not the right thing to do but it occurs.

But the idea that locals view Westerners as "better" from a racial lens is nonsense. Simply put there are hardly any Westerners of this demography or Westerners who cause any kind of trouble hence the only Westerners many Saudi Arabians know or have interacted with, are the highly educated segment of Westerners. Which gives a false picture.

Just like how certain Europeans only interact with wealthy Saudi Arabian tourists. Or young students.

That said overall Pakistan and Pakistanis are held in high regard by the average person.

Similar to how local Saudi Arabians are put into boxes and treated differently depending on socioeconomic status.

I am sure that you are approaching certain African-American neighborhoods in the US or individuals differently when encountering them in the subway than say some Chinese student. Even instinctively. We are all guilty of such behavior from time to time.

As long as there is no institutional racism and the law is equal for everyone, that is the most important thing. Now how people or communities are perceived by group x or y depends on personal experience and the demography of that group of people.

Same way Pakistanis interact or perceive Afghans working within Pakistan.

BTW Riyadh is not representative of KSA. KSA is the size of Western Europe and 3 times larger than Pakistan with numerous unique socioeconomic regions. Riyadh itself has many various neighborhoods of socioeconomic status.

Manfuhah neighborhood in Riyadh for instance is notorious for its poorer Afro-Arab community, large amount of illegals, higher incidents of crime rate etc. Totally different world from much of Riyadh. Even a non-local Riyadhi and non-Najdi like myself can notice this within a very short time frame.

BTW, the idea of Western technology, goods and services in general being of a higher quality is objectively true. I don't see how that is a bad thing. Just like Chinese stuff was considered close to useless 30-40 years ago but nowadays China is the largest trade partner and you see more Chinese goods than US goods and past reputations are no longer relevant.

BTW as of 2026, there is literally no difference between KSA and Western Europe/West in terms of any rights. The only difference is that there are no workers unions, at least official, and that it remains fairly difficult (but far from impossible) to receive citizenship. The old Kafala system is abolished as well, even though most of the time it did not cause any trouble to have a local sponsor.

As far as citizenship goes, if KSA was to hand out citizenship to every Muhammad, Ali and Ibrahim from the Muslim world, who have lived and worked in KSA for a few years since the 1960's, us locals, would compose maybe 5% of the local population and the entire social welfare system of KSA with free education, no taxation, free healthcare, tons of state and persona benefits would have ended within a few months, leading to the end of the current political system. Meanwhile the West needed workers and had demographic challenges (while KSA had one of the fastest and biggest population growth in the modern era) and could afford it, given that taxation was and remains the backbone of their (states) income, unlike in KSA where this does not exist but I predict will not far from now. Or at some point in time which again will lead to, down the road, most likely, a constitutional monarchy with shared direct power, other than the current tribal/clan affinity between people and state.

In fact well-educated European Muslims (Arabs and non-Arabs) are leaving their homelands to settle/work/live in KSA in very large numbers due to increasing Islamophobia within Europe and the West and fewer opportunities.

Considering the number of KSA students who occupy the coffee shop in my neighborhood - clearly there is a preference for where to be instead of just on socioeconomics.

However, I agree and have witnessed the MBS led change - but at the same time there are existing social balances for reasons you outlined but also reasons for preference for the west that will take more than implementing these justice systems.

As for rights, I disagree that unlike Europe where there is still somewhat of a lesser bias towards locals - KSA is still the place if you offend a Saudi by refusing something illegal, they can easily have you removed from this earth without any repercussions while you can chase heaven and earth looking for justice against them.

 

[Oscar]

LOL. What is wrong with that? Have you seen the amount of Pakistani and South Asian beggars in Makkah and Madinah and KSA as a whole? It is a massive problem and even an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Makkah itself, large parts of it, were a total dump because illegals, people without any papers (they themselves destroyed it so they could not be send back to their countries of origin) built illegal slum areas. There was an entire city of illegal Rohingyas alone not very far from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Such was the state of affairs. Due to the huge influence that the Saudi Arabian clergy once yielded, all of this was permitted due to Islamic solidarity. Basic rules were never implemented because those illegals were all largely Muslim. No matter how much it destroyed Makkah (the city) and local life etc.

This was the situation for decades with more and more such people arriving. Until the government finally had enough and started razing those slums to the ground in order to be able to develop the city. The problem was particular severe in Makkah, less so Madinah, which also explains why Madinah is better off as a city overall.

Those were the illegal slums in questions:

View attachment 170731

View attachment 170732

View attachment 170733

Makkah itself is already by far the hottest city in KSA, extremely difficult geography to built on and in due to the mountainous and tough terrain, dense population and location of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (that cannot be moved) and the way the city has multiplied in terms of size and population in the past decades. As well as past bad planning of newer parts of the city.

Now compare to not very far from Makkah itself (countryside):

View attachment 170737

View attachment 170738

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Ash Shafa Village: A Beautiful Journey Through Mist and Silence in Saudi Arabia - Wasalt Blog

Discover Ash Shafa Village in Saudi Arabia, from the stunning views of Al Shafa Mountain to Ash Shifa Park, Reef Cafe, and the Golden White Hotel.

blog.wasalt.sa

I have seen 10's of such threads on this very forum where Pakistanis are complaining about the behavior of fellow Pakistanis.

Even the Pakistani government officially warned Pakistanis from begging and similar practices.

Even anti-KSA media like this has been reporting it:

Pakistan issues measures to combat beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia under Umrah visas

Pakistan’s government has implemented measures to clamp down on begging by some of its nationals in the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s recent urging of Islamabad to tackle t…

www.middleeastmonitor.com

Every single week KSA on average deports 20.000 illegals. Al it requires is a simple google search. Nowadays the largest group are Africans, in particular Horners and East Africans. KSA is literally being overrun, as is even small Houthi-controlled North Yemen.

So it then only affirms what I said - both from actual negative experiences and then simply lumping things up assuming all Pakistanis(or certain other nationalities) are bad. Regardless of figuring out the difference to who the individual is or isnt.

 

[PakFactor]

LOL. What is wrong with that? Have you seen the amount of Pakistani and South Asian beggars in Makkah and Madinah and KSA as a whole? It is a massive problem and even an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Makkah itself, large parts of it, were a total dump because illegals, people without any papers (they themselves destroyed it so they could not be send back to their countries of origin) built illegal slum areas. There was an entire city of illegal Rohingyas alone not very far from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Such was the state of affairs. Due to the huge influence that the Saudi Arabian clergy once yielded, all of this was permitted due to Islamic solidarity. Basic rules were never implemented because those illegals were all largely Muslim. No matter how much it destroyed Makkah (the city) and local life etc.

This was the situation for decades with more and more such people arriving. Until the government finally had enough and started razing those slums to the ground in order to be able to develop the city. The problem was particular severe in Makkah, less so Madinah, which also explains why Madinah is better off as a city overall.

Those were the illegal slums in questions:

View attachment 170743

View attachment 170744

View attachment 170745

Makkah itself is already by far the hottest city in KSA, extremely difficult geography to built on and in due to the mountainous and tough terrain, dense population and location of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (that cannot be moved) and the way the city has multiplied in terms of size and population in the past decades. As well as past bad planning of newer parts of the city.

Now compare to not very far from Makkah itself (countryside):

View attachment 170746

View attachment 170747

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View attachment 170748

Ash Shafa Village: A Beautiful Journey Through Mist and Silence in Saudi Arabia - Wasalt Blog

Discover Ash Shafa Village in Saudi Arabia, from the stunning views of Al Shafa Mountain to Ash Shifa Park, Reef Cafe, and the Golden White Hotel.

blog.wasalt.sa

I have seen 10's of such threads on this very forum where Pakistanis are complaining about the behavior of fellow Pakistanis.

Even the Pakistani government officially warned Pakistanis from begging and similar practices.

Even anti-KSA media like this has been reporting it:

Pakistan issues measures to combat beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia under Umrah visas

Pakistan’s government has implemented measures to clamp down on begging by some of its nationals in the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s recent urging of Islamabad to tackle t…

www.middleeastmonitor.com

Every single week KSA on average deports 20.000 illegals. Al it requires is a simple google search. Nowadays the largest group are Africans, in particular Horners and East Africans. KSA is literally being overrun, as is even small Houthi-controlled North Yemen.


It has nothing to do with that. There are (from what I am aware of) no illegal Americans in the 1000's who are flooding KSA or any American beggars in KSA in large numbers. Similarly African-Colombians do not raise suspicion as much as Ethiopians do etc. Skin color has nothing to do with anything.

Compare treatment of the average Afghan in Pakistan (visitor or worker alike) with that of Western tourists.

KSA has reason to be suspicious (officials) of certain nationalities due to the actions of a minority and bad apples among those nationalities or patterns of behavior. To ignore that would be irresponsible. They should continue doing that until proven otherwise. Asking for ID is not a crime either nor an insult. If you have nothing to hide you show your ID and are then left alone.

EDIT: @Watandar I can literally find post of yours that say exactly what I have written, so not sure why you are suddenly not in agreement. So you know just as well as me that what I have written is the ground reality as you yourself have seen it.

I went to Umrah in 2020, right before COVID. We left the country before lockdowns around the world. I passed by these slum-like areas and wondered why there wasn't much development; I didn't know they were illegally built.

But the question is: have those who built these illegal houses been relocated, and have they been provided with housing in government-built residential units?

 

[PakAl]

Qatar cant seriously stand against the Taliban or Israel and you think we should invite them? They are just a liability

We dont decide anything, its all what Saudis want.

 

[313Ghazi]

Recently we couldn't pay back UAE and so we gave them a share of Fauji foundation.

This JF-17 deal, is it the same sort of thing but with KSA? They're worried about not getting their money back so have just said "yeah we'd like some of those JF-17's, keep the money we've already given you".

I'm not shitting on the JF-17, but in an airforce full of F-15's, Tornado's and Eurofighters, it seems a little out of place. It's like having the entire apple ecosystem at home and then buying a Samsung.

 

[mulj]

LOL. What is wrong with that? Have you seen the amount of Pakistani and South Asian beggars in Makkah and Madinah and KSA as a whole? It is a massive problem and even an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Makkah itself, large parts of it, were a total dump because illegals, people without any papers (they themselves destroyed it so they could not be send back to their countries of origin) built illegal slum areas. There was an entire city of illegal Rohingyas alone not very far from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Such was the state of affairs. Due to the huge influence that the Saudi Arabian clergy once yielded, all of this was permitted due to Islamic solidarity. Basic rules were never implemented because those illegals were all largely Muslim. No matter how much it destroyed Makkah (the city) and local life etc.

This was the situation for decades with more and more such people arriving. Until the government finally had enough and started razing those slums to the ground in order to be able to develop the city. The problem was particular severe in Makkah, less so Madinah, which also explains why Madinah is better off as a city overall.

Those were the illegal slums in questions:

View attachment 170743

View attachment 170744

View attachment 170745

Makkah itself is already by far the hottest city in KSA, extremely difficult geography to built on and in due to the mountainous and tough terrain, dense population and location of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (that cannot be moved) and the way the city has multiplied in terms of size and population in the past decades. As well as past bad planning of newer parts of the city.

Now compare to not very far from Makkah itself (countryside):

View attachment 170746

View attachment 170747

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

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View attachment 170748

Ash Shafa Village: A Beautiful Journey Through Mist and Silence in Saudi Arabia - Wasalt Blog

Discover Ash Shafa Village in Saudi Arabia, from the stunning views of Al Shafa Mountain to Ash Shifa Park, Reef Cafe, and the Golden White Hotel.

blog.wasalt.sa

I have seen 10's of such threads on this very forum where Pakistanis are complaining about the behavior of fellow Pakistanis.

Even the Pakistani government officially warned Pakistanis from begging and similar practices.

Even anti-KSA media like this has been reporting it:

Pakistan issues measures to combat beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia under Umrah visas

Pakistan’s government has implemented measures to clamp down on begging by some of its nationals in the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh’s recent urging of Islamabad to tackle t…

www.middleeastmonitor.com

Every single week KSA on average deports 20.000 illegals. Al it requires is a simple google search. Nowadays the largest group are Africans, in particular Horners and East Africans. KSA is literally being overrun, as is even small Houthi-controlled North Yemen.


It has nothing to do with that. There are (from what I am aware of) no illegal Americans in the 1000's who are flooding KSA or any American beggars in KSA in large numbers. Similarly African-Colombians do not raise suspicion as much as Ethiopians do etc. Skin color has nothing to do with anything.

Compare treatment of the average Afghan in Pakistan (visitor or worker alike) with that of Western tourists.

KSA has reason to be suspicious (officials) of certain nationalities due to the actions of a minority and bad apples among those nationalities or patterns of behavior. To ignore that would be irresponsible. They should continue doing that until proven otherwise. Asking for ID is not a crime either nor an insult. If you have nothing to hide you show your ID and are then left alone.

EDIT: @Watandar I can literally find post of yours that say exactly what I have written, so not sure why you are suddenly not in agreement. So you know just as well as me that what I have written is the ground reality as you yourself have seen it.

You did your job allowing other muslims owning properties in SA, rest of it should be under communal regulations and people should shut up about it.
Regarding beggar issues it is complex and sensitive topic and there is no just solution for it on this world.

 

[maxpane]

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia discuss converting $2bn loans into JF-17 fighter jet deal​

Defence deal was signed following Israel's strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha

---

ReutersJanuary 08, 20263 min read
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 17, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY

---

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion of Saudi loans into a JF-17 fighter jet deal, two Pakistani sources said, deepening military cooperation months after the two nations signed a mutual defence pact last year.

The talks underscore how the two allies are moving to operationalise defence cooperation at a time when Pakistan is facing acute financial strain and Saudi Arabia is reshaping its security partnerships to hedge against uncertainty about U.S. commitments in the Middle East.

The mutual defence deal was signed following Israel's strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha, an attack that shook the Gulf region.

One of the sources said the discussions were limited to the provision of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, the light combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China and produced in Pakistan, while the second said the jets were the primary option among others under discussion.

The first source said the total deal was worth $4 billion, with an additional $2 billion to be spent on equipment over and above the loan conversion. The sources close to the military with knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the deal.

Pakistan's Air Chief Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu was in Saudi Arabia for bilateral talks, including on "military cooperation between the two sides", Saudi media outlet SaudiNews50 said on social media platform X on Monday.

Aamir Masood, a retired Air Marshal and analyst, said Pakistan was in talks about or had finalised deals with six countries to provide equipment, including JF-17s and electronic systems and weapons systems for the jets. He said those countries included Saudi Arabia, but could not confirm any details about the negotiations.

The JF-17's marketability has been increased because "it is tested and has been used in combat," he told Reuters, adding that it's also cost-effective. Pakistan has said the aircraft was deployed during its conflict with India in May last year, the heaviest fighting between the neighbours in decades.

Pakistan's military and finance, and defence ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia's government media office also did not respond.

The mutual defence pact, signed in September, committed both sides to treat any aggression against either country as an attack on both, significantly deepening a decades-old security partnership.

Pakistan has long provided military support to the kingdom, including training and advisory deployments, while Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stepped in to support Pakistan financially during periods of economic stress.

In 2018, Riyadh announced a $6 billion support package for Pakistan, including a $3 billion deposit at the central bank and $3 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payment.

Saudi Arabia has since rolled over deposits multiple times, including a $1.2 billion deferment last year, helping Islamabad stabilise its foreign exchange reserves amid chronic balance-of-payments pressures.

Pakistan has in recent months stepped up defence outreach as it seeks to expand arms exports and monetise its domestic defence industry.

Read: Pakistan backs Saudi-UAE peace efforts in Yemen

Last month, Islamabad struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with Libya's eastern-based Libyan National Army, officials said, one of the country's largest-ever arms sales, which includes JF-17 fighter jets and training aircraft.

Pakistan has also held talks with Bangladesh on the possible sale of JF-17s, as it widens its arms supply ambitions beyond South Asia and the Middle East.

On Tuesday, Pakistan's defence minister said the success of its weapons industry could transform the country's economic outlook.

"Our aircraft have been tested, and we are receiving so many orders that Pakistan may not need the International Monetary Fund in six months," Khawaja Asif told broadcaster Geo News.

Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion IMF programme, its 24th, which followed a short-term $3 billion deal that helped avert a sovereign default in 2023. It secured the Fund's support after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies provided financial and deposit rollovers.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office responds

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share broad and long-standing defence relations, the Foreign Office spokesperson said on Thursday.

Responding to questions about reports of a possible agreement involving JF-17 fighter jets, the spokesperson said the Foreign Office had no knowledge of any such deal.

“If anything of this nature happens, it will be shared at the appropriate time,” the spokesperson added.

(With additional input from our correspondent in Islamabad)

about conversio of loan i dnt get it . Pakistan has not enough money then how it will produce jet . loan money is used in something else

 

[Yasser76]

Recently we couldn't pay back UAE and so we gave them a share of Fauji foundation.

This JF-17 deal, is it the same sort of thing but with KSA? They're worried about not getting their money back so have just said "yeah we'd like some of those JF-17's, keep the money we've already given you".

I'm not shitting on the JF-17, but in an airforce full of F-15's, Tornado's and Eurofighters, it seems a little out of place. It's like having the entire apple ecosystem at home and then buying a Samsung.

Yeah, but Saudi is not just buying fighter planes. They are buying protection. Plenty of planes out there more capable then the JF-17 like Rafale, Gripen and KF-21.

Saudis are buying protection, just like they did with their deals with F-15, Tornado or Eurofighter. They knew that would cement US/UK alliance. Rafale, Gripen and KF-21 would have been a better choice (especially from a point of view of integration with the rest of their assets). This way they get a permanent PAF presence, a limited air defence system free of Western interference. Also they get familiar with advanced Chinese systems without Chinese boots on the ground.

Obviously London and Washington may not be over the moon, but this is is the price paid for letting the Israelis have free reign over the Mid East.

Geo politics is changing very quickly. In the 80s US sold (what was then) very advanced F-16s to Venezuela, now look....

 

[Khanivore]

Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR): How Pakistan Is Reshaping Its Middle East and Turkey Diplomacy.

Very interesting read.

Could an actual alliance be forming?

I think we might be witnessing a formation of an alliance soon.

Time will tell.

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[Oldenwisdom...قول بزرگ]

Recently we couldn't pay back UAE and so we gave them a share of Fauji foundation.

This JF-17 deal, is it the same sort of thing but with KSA? They're worried about not getting their money back so have just said "yeah we'd like some of those JF-17's, keep the money we've already given you".

I'm not shitting on the JF-17, but in an airforce full of F-15's, Tornado's and Eurofighters, it seems a little out of place. It's like having the entire apple ecosystem at home and then buying a Samsung.

Platform!
The technology set is different from existing...
It opens up a whole new avenue and window into the parallel systems that Pakistan has worked around and honed and built elsewhere outside of the sanctionsphere.