Pakistan, Islamabad: “Nuclear program available to Saudi Arabia if necessary”

Dubai (UAE), Sept. 19 (LaPresse/AP) – Pakistan’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia, if necessary, under the defense pact between the two countries. The announcement was made by Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif in an interview with Geo TV on Thursday evening. This marks the first specific confirmation that Pakistan is placing Saudi Arabia under the protection of its nuclear arsenal. On Wednesday, the two countries signed a defense agreement stating that an attack on one would be considered an attack on both. The move is seen by some as a signal to Israel, long regarded as the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons. It comes after Israel last week launched a strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar, killing six people and raising new concerns among Gulf Arab states about their security in the context of the Israel-Hamas war. “I would like to clarify one point about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established a long time ago, when we conducted the tests. Since then, we have had forces trained for the battlefield,” Asif said. “What we have and the capabilities we possess will be made available (to Saudi Arabia) under this agreement,” he added.