Saudi funding pullout forces Pakistan to freeze $1.5bn Sudan arms deal

Pakistan has placed a $1.5 billion agreement to supply aircraft and weapons to Sudan on hold after Saudi Arabia withdrew its plan to finance the purchase and signaled that the deal should be terminated, according to multiple security and diplomatic sources.

The proposed transaction had been in its final stages earlier this year and was initially brokered by Saudi Arabia as part of broader defence cooperation arrangements. However, Riyadh’s decision to step back from financing the deal effectively stalled its execution, forcing Islamabad to suspend progress on the export contract.

Sources said the shift followed a reassessment of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in regional conflicts, including the ongoing war in Sudan, where fighting between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has triggered one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises and intensified competition among foreign actors in the Red Sea region.

According to officials familiar with the matter, a meeting held in March between Sudanese military leaders and Saudi authorities in Riyadh resulted in the termination of Saudi financial backing for the arms deal. Some Western governments had also urged Saudi Arabia to avoid deeper engagement in proxy conflicts across Africa, further influencing the policy shift.

The stalled Sudan agreement was among several defence export negotiations pursued by Pakistan’s military following heightened international attention on its aircraft and weapons systems after border skirmishes with India last year.

Saudi Arabia remains one of Pakistan’s closest strategic partners and a key provider of financial assistance to Islamabad, including loans and balance-of-payments support. Bilateral ties deepened further after the two countries signed a mutual defence pact last year that treats aggression against either state as an attack on both.

In a related development, another proposed defence transaction valued at approximately $4 billion involving the Libyan National Army is also facing uncertainty, with sources indicating that Saudi authorities are reviewing their strategic posture in both Sudan and Libya.