Even as there were some nuclear sabre-rattling by Pakistan recently in the wake of the tense military stand-off between India and Pakistan, especially by Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir who reportedly said in the US that “we are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we will take half the world down with us," Defence Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Asif sought to clear air on his country's stance on the use of nuclear weapons.
In an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, the Pakistan defence minister pointed out that after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although there are multiple nuclear powers in the world, no nuclear power is in favour of using these weapons, signalling that Pakistan too is in favour of restraint.
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Further, speaking about the Pakistan and Saudi Arabia "strategic mutual defence" agreement, which declares that any attack on either country will be considered "an aggression against both", Asif said the defence ties between the two countries date back to nearly six decades.
According to him, the pact is merely aimed at giving a formal structure to this partnership. “This agreement has only formalised the defence relations we have had for a long time. Earlier, it was based on some transactions before,” the defence minister said.
The agreement was signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit to Riyadh, where he was received by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.