he recent defence and nuclear cooperation pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has ignited considerable global attention. Its most surprising clause declares that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” While this language resembles NATO’s Article 5, its implications in the nuclear and Middle Eastern context are far more precarious. The pact raises difficult questions about the prohibition on the use of force, collective self-defence, and state responsibility when deterrence arrangements violate the realms of sovereignty and accountability.