Saudi-Pakistan defence deal a worry for India: Congress

The Congress on Thursday said the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan strategic mutual defence pact "has grave implications for India's national security", even as the main opposition party sought to question the government's overseas outreach by pointing that this pact materialised despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi having visited Saudi Arabia right when the Pahalgam terrorist strike happened.

Referring to how President Xi Jinping "threw open" China's secret military complex to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari "just a few days after our Prime Minister's much-touted visit to China", Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, "Now, Saudi Arabia, where the Prime Minister was when the Pahalgam terror attacks took place, has signed a "strategic mutual defence" pact with Pakistan. This, of course, has grave implications for India's national security. The Indian National Congress notes with concern yet another setback for the much-hyped personalised diplomacy of our Prime Minister."

Ramesh also recalled that just a month after Operation Sindoor was "abruptly stopped", US President Donald Trump hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan for lunch at the White House.