# Pakistan's military spokesman says its troops have been in Saudi Arabia for decades across multiple domains

The statement follows reports of a deployment of about 8,000 Pakistani troops with Chinese-made air defenses, at the same time the United States is ending its military mission in Iraq.

- Published: 2026-10-08T05:19:03.136Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-08/pakistan-s-military-spokesman-says-its-troops-have-been-in-s
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2035448/dg-ispr-says-pakistani-troops-present-in-saudi-arabia-for-decades-across-multiple-domains), [South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370072/us-wraps-military-mission-iraq-giving-baghdad-room-strengthen-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed), [The New Arab](https://www.newarab.com/news/why-did-pakistan-deploy-soldiers-fighter-jets-saudi-arabia), [Denver Gazette](https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/05/18/pakistan-deployed-fighter-squadron-and-8000-soldiers-to-saudi-arabia-during-iran-war-report/)

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military's media wing, said Pakistani troops are in Saudi Arabia and have been there "for decades" across multiple domains, [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2035448/dg-ispr-says-pakistani-troops-present-in-saudi-arabia-for-decades-across-multiple-domains). He presented the presence as a long-standing arrangement, not a new commitment.

Earlier reporting suggests the deployment has grown since the Iran war began. In May, Pakistani security officials and government sources said Pakistan had sent about 8,000 troops, a squadron of about 16 aircraft (mostly JF-17 fighters developed with China), and a Chinese HQ-9 air defense system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact, [according to reporting carried by the Denver Gazette](https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/05/18/pakistan-deployed-fighter-squadron-and-8000-soldiers-to-saudi-arabia-during-iran-war-report/) and [The New Arab](https://www.newarab.com/news/why-did-pakistan-deploy-soldiers-fighter-jets-saudi-arabia). The two countries signed the pact on September 17, 2025, and both say it obliges each to defend the other if attacked. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan's defense minister, has implied that it places Saudi Arabia under Pakistan's nuclear protection. One government source said the pact allows up to 80,000 Pakistani troops to be deployed. Pakistan has also served as the main mediator in the Iran war.

The United States is reducing its own presence in the region. It has ended its military mission in Iraq, [the South China Morning Post reported](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370072/us-wraps-military-mission-iraq-giving-baghdad-room-strengthen-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed). Analysts told the paper this gives Baghdad more room to diversify its partnerships and indirectly helps China's energy and commercial interests. They also said it is unlikely to leave a gap that Beijing could fill.

## What this means

Saudi Arabia is buying security from a nuclear-armed neighbor that uses Chinese weapons, while Washington withdraws from Iraq. Pakistan gains Gulf financing and status. China gains a market for its arms and a stake in Gulf security without deploying its own forces. Pakistan risks being drawn into a war with Iran, its neighbor, even as it tries to mediate that conflict. The arrangement challenges the desk's thesis that India dominates South Asia: Pakistan now has Gulf military influence that India's economic ties there do not match. The precedent is the 1980s, when Pakistani brigades were stationed in Saudi Arabia after the Iranian revolution, paid for largely by Riyadh. The desk's read is that within months the Saudi-Pakistani arrangement becomes more open, through joint exercises, Saudi financial support for Pakistan, and more Chinese-made equipment in the kingdom. If US strikes on Iran resume, Islamabad will try to limit its role to defending Saudi territory. A public Pakistani statement that its forces will not take part in any operation against Iran would confirm that limit. A Pakistani reduction of forces in the kingdom would contradict the read.

## What to watch

- Pakistan's stated role if US strikes on Iran resume. Any move beyond defending Saudi territory would put a nuclear-armed state into the Gulf conflict.
- New Saudi deposits or financing for Pakistan. Money flows would show the security relationship being paid for in balance-of-payments support.
- Chinese arms sales to Gulf states and Iraq after the US exit. Rising sales would show Beijing gaining influence without stationing forces.