Pakistan has deployed 8,000 soldiers, along with a squadron of jets and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia as part of their mutual defense pact in the face of ever-growing escalations with Iran, according to a new report.

The troops and aircraft were deployed in early April, including JF-17 fighter jets and the Chinese HQ-9 air defense system, which are meant to intercept any strikes against Saudi Arabia, officials told Reuters.

Under the mutual defense pact, Pakistan may send as many as 80,000 troops to defend the Saudi Kingdom, which had been targeted by Iranian attacks during the height of the war in March, security officials added.

The deployment further fortifies the thousands of Pakistani troops who were already stationed in Saudi Arabia amid the conflict.

The sheer scale of the deployment suggests that Pakistan is taking an active role to protect Saudi Arabia following Iran’s attack on Riyadh’s energy infrastructure, risking a wider war in the Middle East.

Along with the soldiers and aircraft, including drones, Pakistan also deployed warships as part of the security agreement, but it was not immediately clear if any vessel had reached Saudi Arabia yet.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s governments have yet to issue a statement on the latest, large-scale deployment operation.

The full details of the two nations’ mutual defense agreement, which was signed last year, remain unclear, but both sides have said that their countries are committed to defending each other in the face of an attack.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif implied at the time that the agreement effectively places the Saudi kingdom under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella.

Pakistan has long provided the Saudis with military support and training, with Riyadh serving as a powerful economic ally that financed much of the equipment that has now been deployed to the kingdom.

The details of the two countries’ military operations follow reports that Saudi Arabia fired multiple, secret strikes on Iran in retaliation for the Islamic republic’s assaults inside the kingdom.

Iran has repeatedly warned that its mass retaliation campaign in the Gulf would resume if the US and Israel end the fragile cease-fire in place.

With Post Wires