On September 17, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed defence agreement in Riyadh, declaring that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif reportedly also told media outlet that Saudi Arabia could get access to Pakistan’s nuclear programme, if required, after the signing of the agreement. In a worst-case scenario involving an Iranian or Israeli attack, Islamabad might even extend its nuclear umbrella to Saudi Arabia, besides conventional forces. The parallels between Russia-North Korea and Saudi-Pakistan pacts are uncanny, revealing a pattern in asymmetric alliances where junior partners bear the heavier load. “Russia extracts military and munitions from Pyongyang to sustain its war machine; Saudi Arabia gains a nuclear backstop from Islamabad to deter Iran and Israel, while mainly offering economic lifelines in return.