Pakistan’s defence exports are growing, but internal insecurity threatens its ambitions.
![Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a defence agreement on September 17 in Riyadh [Handout/Pakistan Prime Minister's Office]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/30695b7f-06e3-4469-9fa5-0a6a94c33ed3-1768391410.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Riaz Khokhar is an independent researcher and a political science graduate from the University of Gothenburg. He has over five years of think tank exp...erience across Pakistan, the United States, and Sweden. His analysis of Asian geopolitics and security issues has been featured in Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, Atlantic Council, and the Stimson Center’s South Asian Voices.
Pakistan’s defence exports are growing, but internal insecurity threatens its ambitions.
![Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a defence agreement on September 17 in Riyadh [Handout/Pakistan Prime Minister's Office]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/30695b7f-06e3-4469-9fa5-0a6a94c33ed3-1768391410.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Pakistan has long juggled ties with China and the US successfully. It’s open turn towards Beijing risks ending that.
