Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has reiterated the country's deep-rooted alliance with China, asserting that Beijing remains unperturbed by Islamabad’s strengthening relations with the United States.

This statement follows the high-profile White House meeting hosted by President Donald Trump with Pakistan’s leadership, including PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, underscoring recent efforts by Pakistan to forge closer ties with the US through mineral, cryptocurrency, and other strategic deals.

When questioned by British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, Khawaja Asif highlighted that approximately 80% of Pakistan’s arms imports over the past four years have been sourced from China, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute statistics. He emphasised that the Pakistani Air Force, submarine fleet, and much of the nation’s defence hardware are Chinese origin, describing defence ties as “robust” and only strengthening with time.

Asif stated unequivocally that Pakistan’s defence future resides with China, citing Beijing’s reliability both as an arms supplier and as a neighbour sharing geographical proximity. He pointed out the unreliability of other partners such as the United States, framing Sino-Pak defence cooperation as a stable foundation for national security that surpasses the transactional nature of US-Pakistan relations.

In the wide-ranging interview, the Pakistani Defence Minister described relations with the US as fraught with “flirtation and transactional” elements, suggesting that while Pakistan has historically oscillated between Washington and Beijing, strategic dependence on the US remains limited and opportunistic.

The conversation also addressed Pakistan’s new defence agreement with Saudi Arabia. Khawaja Asif confirmed that the “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” formalises a pact where any act of aggression against either party would be treated as an attack on both nations.

The agreement was inked during PM Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit to Riyadh, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, signalling a major shift in regional security cooperation. When asked about the potential extension of Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella to Saudi Arabia, Asif declined to comment on specifics, focusing instead on the broader significance of the pact’s formalisation.

In a notable development, PM Shehbaz Sharif publicly lauded President Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly, nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize for allegedly mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

However, New Delhi disputed this characterisation, clarifying that the ceasefire agreement was brokered at the DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level bilaterally without presidential mediation.

Despite Sharif’s overt praise for President Trump and efforts to spotlight US involvement, the Indian government maintains its stance that the post-attack ceasefire was a strictly bilateral military arrangement, underscoring persistent sensitivities in regional conflict mediation.

Based On ANI Report