Government says it expects Riyadh to respect mutual sensitivities

NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Friday said it expects Riyadh to be mindful of mutual interests and sensitivities in keeping with the "wide-ranging strategic partnership, which has deepened considerably in the last few years".

The statement by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal followed media queries on the issue. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan this week formalised their almost 60-year-old defence and security cooperation through a strategic defence pact that states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.

Saudi officials have been quoted as saying that the pact won't stymie the kingdom's efforts to improve the relationship with India. The defence pact is seen as a fallout of Israel's aggression in the region, including its recent strikes in Doha to take out Hamas figures. India has taken note of the fact that the details of the agreement are not public yet but the reference to collective defence is in a joint statement.

India maintains that it was aware of the agreement from the time it was in the works and it is currently assessing its force as a legal obligation. Given its own improving defence cooperation with Riyadh, India doesn't see any military threat from Saudi Arabia in the event of a conflict escalation with Pakistan, but concerns remain about the pact possibly resulting in a military windfall for Pakistan that could improve its ability to wage war against India.

Government sources pointed to the fact that Pakistan and Saudi have a long-standing defence partnership that goes back several decades.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a decades-long defence partnership, and while the United States provides the overall security framework, in many cases Pakistan has provided manpower and expertise in the military domain, said a source, recalling that whenever Gulf states have come under threat, whether from Arab nationalism or Iran, they have turned to Pakistan.

As per Indian authorities, the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia pact only formalises the existing understandings, particularly on Pakistani support to Saudi Arabia, and that the timeline may have been accelerated by the recent attacks on Doha.

Saudi Arabia had first signed a defence agreement with Pakistan in 1967 and upgraded it in 1982 through a bilateral security cooperation agreement. At one point of time, during the Iran-Iraq war, more than 15,000 Pakistani troops were stationed in the kingdom.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search