Pakistan, Saudi in talks on JF-17 jets-for-loans deal

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion of Saudi loans into a JF-17 fighter jet deal, two Pakistani sources said, deepening military cooperation months after the two nations signed a mutual defence pact last year, Report informs via Reuters.

The talks underscore how the two allies are moving to operationalise defence cooperation at a time when Pakistan is facing acute financial strain and Saudi Arabia is reshaping its security partnerships to hedge against uncertainty about US commitments in the Middle East.

The mutual defence deal was signed following Israel's strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha, an attack that shook the Gulf region.

One of the sources said the discussions were limited to the provision of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, the light combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China and produced in Pakistan, while the second said the jets were the primary option among others under discussion.

The first source said the total deal was worth $4 billion, with an additional $2 billion to be spent on equipment over and above the loan conversion.

The sources close to the military with knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the deal.

Pakistan's Air Chief Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu was in Saudi Arabia for bilateral talks including on "military cooperation between the two sides", Saudi media outlet SaudiNews50 said on social media platform X on Monday.