The federal cabinet on Thursday ratified the landmark Pakistan-Saudi Arabia strategic defence agreement, formally endorsing the pact that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier described as a milestone in bilateral relations.

The approval came during a cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister, who also briefed members on his recent official visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia, and his participation in the United Nations General Assembly session.

Cabinet members lauded the leadership of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for achieving what they called a “historic step forward” in defence cooperation.

According to an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the cabinet also approved the donation of 15 non-operational aircraft of the Department of Plant Protection to various educational and exhibition institutions.

The remaining four functional aircraft will continue to be used for locust control operations.

Previous attempts to auction the aircraft had failed, prompting the government to repurpose them.

The cabinet further gave its in-principle approval for legislation to establish a dedicated WAPDA Security Force to safeguard the authority’s major dams and hydropower projects under the proposed WAPDA Security Force Act 2025.

It also endorsed the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in its October 2 meeting and those of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases held on September 22, 2025.

However, the proposed amendments to the Alternate Medicines and Health Products Rules 2014 were referred to a special cabinet committee for further review.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz offered “Fateha” for 11 security personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, who were martyred in Orakzai.

He said he had attended their funerals alongside the army chief in Rawalpindi and hailed their heroism, particularly that of Lt Col Junaid, who “wrote a new chapter of bravery” by eliminating 19 terrorists.

“We will never allow chaos or extremism to spread in our country,” the prime minister said, warning that terrorism was being fuelled from across the border.

“Those posing as friends but sheltering terrorists must be dealt with through firm decisions.”

He added that the sacrifices of the martyrs would never be forgotten.

“Forgetting our martyrs would be the gravest betrayal. The time for tough decisions has come — the fire and water game cannot continue any longer.”

Reiterating Pakistan’s stance on the Middle East conflict, PM Shehbaz reaffirmed that “an independent Palestinian state has been our consistent position from day one” and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

On his recent diplomatic engagements, the prime minister described his meeting with US President Donald Trump as “constructive,” noting that Trump had said the West Bank would never be part of Israel.

He also termed his Malaysia visit “a symbol of strong friendship,” and cited Bloomberg’s recent report recognising Pakistan as an emerging economy as evidence of improving economic indicators.

“The credit for this progress goes to the collective hard work of all stakeholders,” the prime minister concluded.