Pakistan Deploys 3 Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia Amid Fragile US-Iran Ceasefire

Pakistan has deployed fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. This marks the first tangible military action under the joint defence pact between the two countries. According to Al-Jazeera on Sunday (12/4/2026), Pakistan took this step while hosting ceasefire talks aimed at ending weeks of fighting between the US, Israel, and Iran. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence stated that the aircraft, a mix of fighter jets and support jets, landed at King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The deployment was carried out under the joint defence agreement signed in September 2025. That agreement obliges each country to regard an attack on the other as an attack on itself. The pact was signed during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh in September 2025, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As the jets landed in the kingdom, Pakistan was hosting direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad. Since Iran launched missile and drone attacks on what it described as US targets in Gulf countries following the US-Israel assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February, Pakistan has been balancing its commitments on both sides. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that he had warned Iranian leaders in early March that Islamabad was bound by its obligations to Riyadh under the agreement. Iran sought assurances that Saudi territory would not be used to attack it, Dar said, adding that he had secured those assurances. However, Iran’s attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia continued, including key bases and US embassy buildings. Army Chief Marshal Asim Munir flew to Riyadh in early March to discuss measures to stop the Iranian attacks within the framework of the pact. Four days before the fighter jet deployment on Saturday, Sharif telephoned the crown prince to pledge that Pakistan would stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with the kingdom. The two countries also agreed to accelerate the Saudi-promised $5 billion investment package for Pakistan.