Protocol accorded to Shehbaz matches that of Trump and Putin’

Former Saudi ambassador Dr Ali Awad Al-Asiri said on Friday that the protocol extended to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously only been accorded to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

The former Saudi ambassador has described the Pakistan–Saudi Arabia defence agreement as a historic strategic alliance. He wrote in Arab News that the agreement is the result of years of continuous discussions between the two allied nations and reflects the deep and longstanding partnership between Riyadh and Islamabad.

According to Al-Asiri, the protocol extended to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously only been accorded to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. He stated that the recent defence agreement recognises Pakistan’s growing diplomatic stature. He also highlighted Pakistan’s active participation in the UN High-Level Conference on the Two-State Solution.

Al-Asiri underlined that Saudi Arabia holds a special place for Pakistanis. Defence cooperation between the two countries began in the 1960s, with the first formal agreement signed in 1967. Pakistan provided technical assistance to Saudi civil aviation and airlines, while bilateral military collaboration was formalised through the 1982 agreement.

Over 20,000 Pakistanis were stationed in Tabuk and other sensitive regions. In the 2000s, counter-terrorism became a central focus of the cooperation between the two states.