ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Pakistan has been negotiating an expanded defence pact with Kuwait in exchange for energy cooperation and investment, the Reuters news agency reported on Friday, citing five sources with knowledge of the talks.
The talks remain at an early stage, it said, and could still be complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
Kuwait has had a more limited defence deal with Pakistan for training and joint exercises since 2023.
It is now seeking a show of force by Islamabad that would be similar to Pakistan’s pact with Saudi Arabia, including “thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities”, said a Pakistani government official.
It is unclear whether Pakistan is willing to go this far, given that its agreement with Saudi Arabia was the result of a decades-old close alliance with Riyadh.
“Kuwait’s wish list includes everything,” said a Pakistani security official with knowledge of the talks. “But let me be clear about one thing: We are not and we cannot consider a deployment of combat troops at this stage.”
A Middle Eastern source confirmed that Kuwait has been in conversations with Pakistan, including about defence procurement, but said it was “not clear this will amount to a defence pact per se”.
Reuters spoke to four Pakistani sources and one Middle Eastern source, none of whom was authorised to speak on the record.
Pakistan’s military media wing and Kuwait’s information ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
As part of the possible deal with Kuwait, Islamabad would want cooperation on energy security part of a wider push by Pakistan’s energy ministry to boost its oil and fuel reserves.
