Islamabad, Pakistan – On April 11, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shook hands with United States Vice President JD Vance, guiding him to a seat for talks on the sidelines of the highest-level direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.At almost the same time, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense made a very different announcement.In a statement carried by the state-owned Saudi Press Agency, Riyadh confirmed the arrival of a Pakistani military force at King Abdulaziz Air Base in the kingdom’s Eastern Province under the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) signed last year.The statement said the deployment included fighter and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, aimed at strengthening joint military coordination and raising operational readiness between the two countries.In the two days that have passed since then, Pakistan’s government has made no official statement about the development. The military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Ministry of Information, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment sent by Al Jazeera.The Saudi announcement immediately underscored Pakistan’s delicate juggling act in the middle of a war that has destabilised the global economy, led to attacks and deaths in multiple countries and has now led to a high-stakes escalation between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.On the one hand, Islamabad has been a central mediator between the US and Iran, hosting their teams last Saturday, and driving attempts to get them to continue with talks after the breakdown in their negotiations. Advertisement O …
