Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other after signing a defence agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

After Pakistan’s first nuclear test in 1998 landed it under international sanctions and diplomatic isolation, the country turned for help to a longtime ally: Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Mahmood, then Pakistan’s ambassador to Riyadh, requested an urgent meeting with King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. The Saudi monarch objected to the test, but nevertheless pledged to “support you more than you expect,” according to Mahmood . The very next day, Pakistan was promised $3.4 billion in Saudi financial support, funds that helped Islamabad proceed with a second nuclear test, the ambassador said.

That moment

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