Two conflicts separated by half a century — the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 2023 Gaza conflict — have shaped Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations. Following the setback to Israel in the Yom Kippur War the global and regional dynamics in South Asia prompted Pakistan to reach out to Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, the unfolding Gulf scenario since the beginning of the October 7, 2023 Gaza conflict has brought the two sides closer once again. Official sources in New Delhi on Friday (September 19, 2025) said that this time, Israeli bombing of Qatar probably prompted Saudi Arabia to reach out to Pakistan but they said that the two sides have a partnership that stretches back at least half a century.
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The oil embargo imposed by the Arab countries, mainly at the urging of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, jolted the West in 1973. Pakistan, despite being a strong ally of the U.S. since the early Cold War years and despite having served as a trusted courier for the U.S. in its 1971 historic outreach to China, sided with the Arab countries in this phase.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Shahid M. Amin, has written in his autobiography, Reminiscences of a Pakistani Diplomat (2009),that the first hint of a possible military alliance between Arab countries came after Syria employed several Pakistani air force pilots in its air force that fought Israel in 1973.
Earlier, Zia-ul-Haq, the future military ruler of Pakistan, had served as a military advisor to King Hussein of Jordan, where in 1970 he helped the Jordanian government to deal with the Black September rebellion by the Palestinian rebels. Amin has said that during dogfights with the Israeli air force in 1973, the Pakistani pilots in the Syrian Air Force managed to shoot down “a couple of Israeli jets”, which made a “deep impression” among the Arab countries, leading to the rise of “Pakistani military deputationists” in several Arab capitals.
As a sense of solidarity emerged among the Arab and Muslim-majority countries after the 1973 war with Israel, the Secretary General of the OIC Tengku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia, suggested that an emergency summit should be held to assess the prevailing situation in West Asia.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto seized the opportunity and offered to host the summit in Lahore. The Islamic Summit in Lahore was attended by most of the major leaders from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, starting with Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and, most importantly, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of newly independent Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan), who travelled to Lahore to attend the summit.
In a sign of reconciliation, Mujib and Bhutto embraced each other at a public rally, indicating a closure of the bitter phase of 1971. The pro-U.S. Shah of Iran stayed away, as he was having a war of words with Gaddafi at that time.
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With the successful holding of the Lahore Islamic Summit in 1974, a new realisation dawned in the Arab Desk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, where Amin was in charge. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had been friends since the creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947 and in 1967 the two sides had signed a defence agreement, but keeping the recent surge of petrodollars from the Gulf sheikhdoms in mind, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came up with the idea of an outreach with his Foreign Minister Aziz Ahmed, as the leader of the team.
The idea was to appeal for assistance from the petrodollar — rich United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The team first landed in UAE where they had the task of impressing President Sheikh Zayed, who was the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the main oil producer among the seven constituent Emirates of the UAE. Amin has written that Sheikh Zayed spoke about his love for Pakistan and politely heard Mr. Ahmed’s request for financial assistance to Pakistan and offered $100 million.
Taking forward Bhutto’s petrodollar diplomacy, the Pakistani team reached Saudi Arabia next and was hosted here by King Faisal. The Saudi government discreetly asked the Pakistani team about the amount that Abu Dhabi had offered and on hearing the amount, the Saudis offered $300 million and flew the Pakistani team home in a Lockheed Jetstar aircraft.
King Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by one of his nephews in a mysterious situation and his successor was King Khaled. In September 1975, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited the summer capital of Saudi Arabia in Taif, a mountainous area near Mecca.
Apart from Bhutto, the Pakistani delegation had Aziz Ahmed, Shahid M. Amin, who headed the Arab Desk in MoFA, and Foreign Secretary Agha Shahi. During a break in the talks where Bhutto sought Saudi assistance to purchase fighter aircraft necessary to counter India’s regional dominance, Saudi Ambassador Riad al-Khateeb asked Amin about how much assistance Pakistanis expected from the Saudi government.
Amin refused to give a firm response, saying what al-Khateeb thought would be the reasonable amount. In response, Riad al-Khateeb said King Khaled and Crown Prince Fahad planned to extend a grant of $1-2 billion. “The figure mentioned by Riad al-Khateeb was much more than what we had in mind and encouraged Pakistan to widen its expectations,” wrote Shahid M. Amin, giving a hint of the vital assistance that the Saudis provided to Pakistan to help it recover from the blow of 1971 that ultimately assisted it in becoming a nuclear power.
Published – September 20, 2025 03:47 am IST
