Gulf power struggle tests Pakistan — and its loyalties as it veers towards Saudi risking UAE ties

Pakistan finds itself under strain as the Saudi Arabia–UAE rivalry intensifies, testing Islamabad’s loyalties in the Gulf. With strategic, defence and financial stakes on both sides, Pakistan has avoided taking a firm public position, even as Saudi Arabia seeks clearer backing amid the conflict in Yemen.

Defence pact fails to translate into open support

Despite signing a bilateral defence pact with Saudi Arabia last year, Pakistan has been unable to support Riyadh openly and decisively following the Saudi–UAE spat. Beyond issuing a statement backing Saudi Arabia after the recent conflict in Yemen, the Pakistani leadership and the army have not backed Saudi Arabia on the ground against the UAE.

Reuters reported on Friday that Pakistan is close to finalising a $1.5bn arms deal with Sudan’s army, a move that signals Islamabad’s deepening alignment with Ankara and Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia- and Turkey-backed forces battle the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary.

Sharif reiterates ‘complete solidarity’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “complete solidarity” with Saudi Arabia during a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Experts monitoring Pakistan–Gulf relations say that apart from this call, Islamabad did not take any concrete step in favour of Saudi Arabia.

When the Saudi Army launched an attack on UAE military assets in Yemen, the UAE President was in Pakistan on a quasi-official visit. During the visit, the UAE announced an investment in Pakistan’s Fauji Foundation, which is run by the army. The UAE will acquire shares worth around $1 billion in the Fauji Foundation Group. The deal also includes plans to roll over an additional $2 billion in loans.

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Riyadh sends feelers as talks continue

Riyadh is understood to be keeping a close watch on Pakistan’s soft stand and has sent feelers to Islamabad to support it. According to a Reuters report, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about two billion of the Saudi loan into a JF-17 fighter jet deal.

Pakistan’s Air Chief Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu visited Saudi Arabia this week to discuss “bilateral defence cooperation, regional security environment and future avenues of collaboration” with Lieutenant General Turki bin Bander bin Abdulaziz. The Pakistani military confirmed the engagement in a statement issued on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and UAE lock heads in escalating Yemen conflict

Ten years after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a joint military intervention to counter Iran’s influence in Yemen, the former allies are now on opposing sides of the conflict.

The Arab world’s two most powerful states are locked in an unprecedented public dispute over Yemen, a poor but strategically important country long shaped by unresolved conflicts. This week, Saudi Arabia carried out strikes on a UAE shipment carrying combat vehicles destined for Yemen, marking a sharp military escalation, before accusing Abu Dhabi of taking “highly dangerous” actions that threatened the kingdom’s national security.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi movement seized control of the north and captured the capital, Sana’a. Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened a year later, backing the internationally recognised government and allied militias in a shared effort to defeat the Houthis.

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Over time, however, divisions emerged among rival Yemeni factions pursuing competing goals. Those internal tensions gradually exposed deeper differences between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, revealing a widening rift between the two West Asian allies.