... Cong takes on govt over Saudi-Pak def pact, says nat’l security threatened

TERMING the defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as another ‘setback for the much-hyped personalised diplomacy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Thursday expressed concern that the tie-up will have grave implications for India’s national security.

- PREETHA NAIR @New Delhi

In a post on X, Congress MP and general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “A month after Operation Sindoor was ‘abruptly’ stopped, US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House — the same person whose incendiary and inflammatory statements directly led to the Pahalgam terror attacks of April 2025.”