pakistan’s

and by 1980 the Pakistan Army had deployed over twenty thousand military personnel in Saudi
territory, including an armored division. 26 These troops returned to Pakistan only in 1988 at the
request of Saudi Arabia. In exchange, Riyadh has maintained a high-profile economic assistance
program to Pakistan.
Pakistan has also helped facilitate weapons transfers from China to Saudi Arabia. In the
mid-1980s, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, the commander of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces,
purchased from China 50–60 CSS-2 (DF-3) liquid-fuel strategic missiles with a range of
2,800 km and deployed them in the desert south of Riyadh. He personally flew to China twice to
complete the deal, and Pakistan’s support and assistance was duly recognized. With a circular
error of probability of approximately a kilometer, these missiles are of little practical use with
a conventional warhead. Along with the purchase of a number of other surface-to-air missiles,
the Saudi Air Defense Command was set up independent of the army and operationalized by
the mid-1990s. 27
By 2013, there were indications that China had supplied Saudi Arabia with the latest DF-21
accurate, solid-fuel, medium-range missiles, perhaps as early as 2007. 28 The DF-21 missiles are
configured for both anti-ship and land-attack roles and can be fitted with nuclear warheads,
though they are very unlikely to be so armed, especially in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s role in this
transfer has not been attributed.
Saudi Arabia’s economic assistance and payments to Pakistan for the latter’s security support
over the years have come in many forms. Riyadh provided heavy financial support during the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Ater Pakistan came under sanctions following
its nuclear tests in 1998, Riyadh provided it with a free supply of 500,000 barrels of crude oil
annually. 29 More recently, in March 2014 $1.5 billion was transferred to Pakistan without any
explanation to reduce its financial distress. 30
Pakistan remains a true ally of Saudi Arabia and can be expected to come to its aid whenever
required. Whether this will extend to providing strategic capability and nuclear assets may be
questioned. An early 2015 request from Riyadh to Islamabad for military support in the conflict
in Yemen was turned down. This may well suggest that Pakistan’s security dependence on
Saudi Arabia is presently limited and that it is unlikely to extend to providing nuclear support.
Prudence would suggest, however, that in times of extreme strategic need, there may still be a
possibility that Islamabad might make available both strategic weapons and trained manpower. 31
These could be kept at readiness in Baluchistan and airlited at short notice without violating
proliferation norms.
The implications of the close relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are significant
when considering the role nuclear proliferation might play in regional security calculations. What
26 Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 286; Michael Kaufman,
“22 Countries Avail Themselves of Pakistani Soldiers,” New York Times, February 6, 1981; and Richard Burt, “Pakistan Said to Base Troops
on Saudi Soil,” New York Times, August 20, 1980.
27 For a brief report on the Saudi Arabia Air Defense Command, see “Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces,” GlobalSecurity.org, http://www.
globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/rsadf.htm.
28 Ethan Meick, “China’s Reported Ballistic Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia: Background and Potential Implications,” U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission, Staff Report, June 16, 2014.
29 For a comprehensive analysis of this relationship, see Christopher Clary and Mara E. Karlin, “The Pak-Saudi Nuke, and How to Stop It,”
American Interest, June 10, 2012, http://www.the-american-interest.com/2012/06/10/the-pak-saudi-nuke-and-how-to-stop-it.
30 “Dar Terms $1.5bn Donation a ‘Git from Friends,’ ” Dawn, March 16,2014, http://www.dawn.com/news/1093342.
162
NBR
31 For a reliable Western view, see Mark Urban, “Saudi Nuclear Weapons ‘on Order’ from Pakistan,” BBC, November 6, 2013, http://www.bbc.
com/news/world-middle-east-24823846.
SPECIAL REPORT u FEBRUARY 2016