India has said that it will “study the implications” of the new Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
“We will study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries on Thursday.
The MEA Spokesperson said that the Indian government “remains committed to protecting India’s national interests and ensuring comprehensive national security in all domains.”
Prime Minister Sharif, accompanied by Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshall Asim Munir, paid a state visit to Riyadh on Wednesday.
“This agreement, which reflects the shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security and to achieve security and peace in the region and the world aims to develop aspects of defence cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression,” a Pakistani readout said.
The agreement was signed almost a week after Israel carried out strikes against residential buildings housing several Hamas leaders, which Doha labelled as a "flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and a serious threat to the security of the State of Qatar and the countries of the region".
The Israeli strikes led to the convening of the Arab–Islamic extraordinary summit in Doha this week, a meeting attended by leaders of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan among others.
On the other hand, India and Pakistan were also involved in a three-day conflict from 7-10 May, which was New Delhi's military response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack on 22 April.