In 2025, Pakistan greatly extended its defense relationships with Muslim majority countries, being one of the pivotal forces in local security relationship. 2025 was the year of a remarkable genesis of strategic relations, weapons provisions, and military cooperation based on common interests in the issue of Middle Eastern instability, as well as intensification of tensions between Israel and Iran. The only Muslim-majority nuclear-armed country, Pakistan, used its military experience and home-based defense industry to enhance closer cooperation, enhance its economy with record exports and helped to contribute to more united defense stance by the Ummah. Such advances not only made the bilateral relations stronger, but also cast hope on the possibilities of the further multilateral alliances of such character, similar to a kind of a Muslim NATO.
The Pivotal Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement
The main foundation of the defense interaction of 2025 in Pakistan was the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) with Saudi Arabia that was signed in Riyadh on September 17. The agreement solidified relationships of long-standing security requirements with the requirement that any attack on one of the signatory states would be regarded as an attack to the other state, and therefore create mutual defense requirements. It involved sharing of intelligence, mutual drills and the possibility of joint development of military equipment and thus a milestone in the relations as explained by the military leadership of Pakistan.
Field Marshal Asim Munir took a lead in developing this agreement, and he was present and a signatory to the signing of the agreement with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The above pacts strengthened the collective security by putting Pakistan in a strategic place as a stronghold of the Muslim world as envisioned by Munir. The treaty has been seen as a reaction to the regional insecurity such as the acts of Israeli in the Middle East which are said to have sparked the unity of Muslims. In the case of Saudi Arabia, there was the advantage of having a nuclear deterrent against its rivals such as Iran and Pakistan enjoyed the gains of Saudi investments and technology transfer. The pact established joint ventures in naval cooperation improvements earlier in the year with an emphasis being placed on training and maritime security. Analysts opined that it would come to act as a systemic building block to a pan-Islamic defensive alliance with more countries expressed their interest such as Qatar, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.
In November, the two countries held a week long joint military drill in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, which focused on urban warfare and anti-terrorism operations. This was hyped up on decades of cooperation, such as historical presence of troops in Saudi Arabia by Pakistan since 1960s.
Arms Exports and Partnerships with Other Muslim Nations
In 2025, the defense industry of Pakistan had a historic success, and its exports had gone over the 10 billion mark, a record high due to its Islamic majority based deals. Some major customers were Azerbaijan, Libya, Iraq and Sudan indicating the importance of Pakistan as a source of affordable military equipment.
One such deal was with Azerbaijan including a 40 JF-17 Block III fighter jet contract worth 4.6 billion dollars or the largest single defense sale in the history of Pakistan. In June, it was announced as an agreement, providing training and support and strengthening the capabilities of Azerbaijan during the confrontations in the South Caucasus. By November, Azerbaijan already received its first five jets becoming the fourth operator in the world of JF-17.
The largest deals, totaling above four billion dollars, achieved by Libya national army were the purchase of JF-17 jets, drones and guided munitions that have resulted in an increasing African interest in Pakistani equipment. Sudan signed a military equipment and training agreement worth 230-280 million dollars and talks with Iraq and other Gulf nations were underway.
Deepening Ties with Turkey and the UAE
Co-production and transfer of technology with Turkey became more intense in 2025 in the context of collaboration between Pakistan and Turkey. On a swift move, Pakistan, in December, began constructing four Milgem Ada-class corvettes, in a strategic agreement with Turkey, leading to better use of the Navy. There were also talks on productions of Turkish combat drones in Pakistan as the export of the Turkish defense products had been rising. The bilateral relations were also spread to military preparation, joint exercises and diplomatic alignment on several issues such as Kashmir and Cyprus. The relations were further strengthened with Turkish defense minister paying a visit to Pakistan in September during the 16th meeting of the joint military committee.
In the case of the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan considered defense business deals when making wider economic setups including a sale of a 1 billion stake in the military based Fauji Foundation in order to clear debts. Such a financial move highlighted the blend of economic and defense collaboration. Interest in the Pakistani hardware (JF-17 jets) was mentioned in Dubai Airshow 2025 held in the UAE.
Broader Implications for Regional Security
The defense interactions that Pakistan will have between itself and the Muslim world in 2025 are indicative of a strategic shift towards self-reliance and collective security. Though exports generated economic benefits, which may reach to the amount of the 5 billion per year by 2035, these relationships also turned Pakistan into a security provider in the Middle East and elsewhere. These coalitions are likely to redefine geopolitical spaces as 2026 unwinds, encouraging the aspect of stability in the unity and the threshold of multilateral defense structures in the Muslim world.
Nimra Khalil is a Pakistan-based geopolitical analyst and opinion writer specializing in international relations, security strategy, and great power competition in a multipolar world, with a focus on South Asia and the Asia-Pacific.