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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday clarified its new strategic security pact with �������� is purely defensive and not aimed at any third country.

Pakistan and �������� on Wednesday signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) in Riyadh, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both. The deal, sealed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit, is meant to enhance joint deterrence and deepen decades of military and security cooperation.

Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at Al Yamamah Palace, where the two leaders, joined by senior ministers and military officials, reviewed what Sharif’s office described as a “historic and strategic” partnership and discussed regional developments.

“The Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement formalizes decades-old and robust defense partnership between Pakistan and ��������,” foreign office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said at his weekly press briefing. “It is defensive in nature and not directed against any third country. It will contribute to regional peace, security and stability.”

Khan noted that since the 1960s, defense cooperation has been a principal pillar of the two countries’ “all-encompassing bilateral relations.”

Asked if the pact targets Israel or India, he said: “The statement issued by the two countries is self-explanatory, and I have also provided the broader context. Any misplaced attribution or speculation of hypothetical scenarios is unwarranted.”

Highlighting the “special relationship” between the nations, he said that Pakistan and �������� enjoyed enduring and multifaceted relationship.

“The leadership of the two countries shares the common vision to take it to new heights,” he added. “The relationship lives in the hearts of the people of the two countries.”

Khan said Pakistanis hold deep affection for �������� — the land of Makkah and Madinah — and regard the royal family highly for safeguarding Islam’s holiest sites.

Responding to another question, he pointed to the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC), established in 2019, as the key platform for economic collaboration.

The council, he said, aims to institutionalize and fast-track decision-making and implementation across agreed areas of cooperation.

“Pakistan wants to further deepen economic cooperation with the brotherly country of �������� in all areas,” he added.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Chinese enterprises have signed multiple memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for the establishment of a textile industrial park, supply of advanced emergency equipment and to modernize livestock sector in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari’s office said on Friday, following the signing ceremony.

The first agreement was signed between Loyang Modern Biotechnologies and the Government of Sindh, which focuses on modernizing Pakistan’s livestock industry, according to the president’s office. The second MoU was signed between Beijing Asian Africa Longyue and ASM Services for the promotion and construction of a modern textile industrial park in Pakistan.

The third agreement, between Sichuan Chuanxiao Fire Trucks Manufacturing Company and ASM Services, set out a framework for cooperation in supply, distribution, sales and after-sale services of fire trucks and advanced emergency equipment for Pakistan. The signing of agreements was overseen by President Zardari during his visit to Urumqi in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The Pakistani president said the agreements would open new avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and China in sectors that directly support Pakistan’s economic growth and public welfare, according to a statement issued from his office.

“Modernizing the livestock industry will help improve food security and create job opportunities in rural areas, the textile park will boost industrial development and exports, while the partnership on fire trucks and emergency equipment will strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to respond to disasters and protect communities,” he was quoted as saying.

Beijing is Pakistan’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade topping $25 billion in recent years, while Chinese firms have also invested heavily in Pakistan’s power, transport, infrastructure, telecommunication and other projects.

The developments came during President Zardari’s ten-day visit to China, which began on Sept. 12. He has since had a number of engagements with Chinese political and business figures, aimed at further strengthening ties between the two countries.

Both sides this week signed multiple agreements to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, environmental protection and mass transit.

Zardari earlier met Chen Xiaojiang, the Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in Urumqi, wherein the president reaffirmed Pakistan-China friendship as the cornerstone of Islamabad’s foreign policy.

“Pakistan and China will increase cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industry, minerals and new technology,” he said.