With Kuwait deal, Pakistan expands defence umbrella across Middle East

Published On 28 Aug 202628 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, signed the "Protocol Agreement-2026" in Rawalpindi.
• Analysts believe confidence in Washington's Gulf security guarantees weakened after Israel struck a compound hosting Hamas authorities in Doha, Qatar, in September 2025.
• Field Marshal Munir informed Pakistani businessmen in 2023 that Gulf states could invest up to $100bn in the country.
• According to Mahmood, the accord cannot be compared with the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) that Pakistan signed with Saudi Arabia last September.
• The accord builds on an underlying agreement signed in June 2023 but only formally ratified by Kuwait last month.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan and Kuwait signed a new defence agreement on Thursday, with Pakistan's Ministry of Defence saying it significantly enhances a military cooperation framework in place since 2023.

Under the accord, Pakistan's armed forces will assist train Kuwait's military, build its defence capacity and assist with border management, the ministry noted in an official note.

In practice, the accord builds on an underlying agreement signed in June 2023 but only formally ratified by Kuwait last month. The agreement is the latest in a growing list.

Over recent years, Pakistan has signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, joined a trilateral collective-security agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye called the "Mecca Pact", deployed thousands of troops and a fighter squadron to Saudi Arabia, and deepened training arrangements with Qatar.

Pakistan has offered training and manpower to Gulf militaries for decades. What has changed is the pace and visibility of that role, and the readiness of Gulf capitals to formalise it through signed agreements rather than quiet cooperation.

In practice, the question raised by this run of agreements is less regarding any one pact than the pattern itself: Why do Gulf states keep turning to Pakistan, and what does Pakistan gain by saying yes? A more formal relationship. Kuwait is the most recent Gulf state to turn to Islamabad.

Defence cooperation with Kuwait dates to the late 1960s. In the 1990-91 Gulf War, Pakistan sent a sizeable military contingent to Saudi Arabia, positioned defensively around Mecca and Madinah after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Zahid Mahmood, a former two-star Pakistani general and now a defence analyst, remarked that history is the backdrop to Thursday's signing. "Pakistan-Kuwait defence collaboration is not new, " he informed Al Jazeera.

According to Mahmood, the accord cannot be compared with the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) that Pakistan signed with Saudi Arabia last September. It contains no clause resembling the central commitment of the Mecca Pact or the SMDA, both of which treat aggression against one signatory as aggression against all.

Meanwhile, the partnership with Kuwait includes training, logistics, intelligence sharing and joint exercises, overseen by an annual joint military committee.

"What we can say is that Kuwait appears to be moving from basic defence cooperation towards a more structured security partnership. It doesn't mean there's an Article 5-style collective-defence commitment in place. But it is considerably more institutionalised and structured than before, " Mahmood remarked.

Umer Karim, an associate fellow at the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, informed Al Jazeera the new agreement gives Pakistan a role not just in developing Kuwait's broader defence capabilities but specifically in securing its border with Iraq.

"If Pakistani troops get deployed to Kuwait and are positioned on its border, it essentially brings this agreement closer to the Pak-Saudi one, " he remarked. "For now, Pakistan's defence engagement with Gulf states is beginning to take a more concrete shape. While it still is not essentially a security umbrella, it is helping these states diversify their defence partnerships and add another layer of deterrence."

Yousef Al-Mulla, a retired Kuwaiti air force major-general, created a similar point to the pan-Arab outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, noting that Pakistan's growing military-industrial capability and nuclear status provide it "strategic weight".

Analysts believe confidence in Washington's Gulf security guarantees weakened after Israel struck a compound hosting Hamas authorities in Doha, Qatar, in September 2025. When Israel bombed Qatar, the Hamas leaders were part of a team of negotiators involved at the time in indirect negotiations with Israel. Days afterwards, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the SMDA.

During the US-Iran war that began in February this year, Iranian strikes hit US and Kuwaiti targets on Kuwaiti soil, including one that killed six US soldiers near Port Shuaiba.

Salman Al-Jawana, head of the political press section at the Kuwait Journalists Syndicate, informed Al-Araby Al-Jadeed the agreement "should not be read as an ordinary bilateral pact, but in the context of reshaping the security environment in the Gulf after the escalation of regional threats".

Pakistan's own advantages support explain why it is a beneficiary of that reshaping.

According to Karim, pakistan is the only nuclear-armed country in the Muslim world.

While additionally managing solid relations with Arab nations in the Middle East and China, the rising superpower that the region's nations want to woo, it additionally occupies a rare diplomatic space: It is a central mediator in the war between the US and Iran, its leadership trusted by both countries.

That allows countries that have traditionally relied on a US security umbrella to expand their options without upsetting Washington in the way a similar set of deals with China might have. What's in it for Pakistan? What Islamabad gains is less settled than what it provides.

Pakistan received a record $41.6bn in remittances in the last financial year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan, with close to half coming from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Field Marshal Munir informed Pakistani businessmen in 2023 that Gulf states could invest up to $100bn in the country. Three years on, delivered investment remains a fraction of that figure. According to Karim, what Pakistan could expect from Kuwait remains unclear.

Though that will only mature if the Strait of Hormuz saga ends in one manner or another, "It is not clear what Pakistan will gain in return, but most probable the backing from Kuwait can come in the form of subsidised energy supplies. Kuwait may additionally open up visas for Pakistani workers, " he stated. The country is at present home to concerning 95, 000 Pakistanis. Mahmood framed the wider gain in starker terms.

"Any strategic cooperation of this kind makes you far more relevant, and that relevance now extends well beyond the region, " he informed Al Jazeera.

Notably, the former military official remarked the Kuwait agreement could additionally potentially "strengthen our economic relationships" and support address some of Pakistan's economic challenges.

"There are, of course, risks, particularly given the kind of conflict in the region. It becomes extremely dangerous if fought along sectarian lines. But they are far outweighed by the advantages Pakistan is gaining, and will continue to gain, from this strategic approach going forward, " he remarked.

Taken together, the developments around with Kuwait deal, Pakistan expands defence umbrella across Middle East point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.