New York: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the defense agreement with Saudi Arabia is not the reason for Israel’s attack on Qatar, but is the result of years of negotiations and cooperation between the two countries. In an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hassan, Khawaja Asif clarified that the defense agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is the result of decades of cooperation and relations. He said that our defense relations with Saudi Arabia span 5 to 6 decades. Even before that, our forces have been deployed in Saudi Arabia and at one point, about 4,000 to 5,000 personnel were deployed and are still present on Saudi Arabian soil. Khawaja Asif said that the aim of the recent agreement with Saudi Arabia was to formalize the partnership into a regular structure rather than to sign a new agreement. He said that the agreement only formalizes the defense relations that had been established between us for a long time. Earlier, these relations were based on some transactions. To a question, Khawaja Asif reiterated Pakistan’s stance on nuclear weapons, saying that after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no nuclear power is in favor of using these weapons.

The Defense Minister said that Pakistan is committed to upholding the international values ​​of restraint regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

Discussing Pakistan’s internal affairs and political situation, Khawaja Asif said that our democracy has not reached its peak, but we are on that path. I myself have spent 6 months in jail without committing any crime.