Pakistan says its nuclear program can be made available to Saudi Arabia under defense pact

Pakistan's defense minister said his nation's nuclear program "will be made available" to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries' new defense pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella, Report informs via Reuters.

Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's comments late Thursday night underlined the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.

Speaking to Geo TV in an interview, Asif made the comments while answering a question on whether "the deterrence that Pakistan gets from nuclear weapons" will be made available to Saudi Arabia.

"Let me make one point clear about Pakistan's nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield," Asif said.

"What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to (Saudi Arabia) according to this agreement," he added.

The two countries signed a defense deal on Wednesday, declaring that an attack on one nation would be an attack on both.