New Delhi: India on Tuesday (August 11) said it was examining the implications of the newly signed defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan from the perspectives of its national security and regional peace and stability, but stopped short of expressing any objection to the pact.Responding to questions at the Ministry of External Affairs’ weekly media briefing about the agreement signed in Mecca on August 7, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India was “closely” following developments in the West Asia conflict and assessing the agreement’s implications.“As far as this particular agreement is concerned, we are examining its implications both from the perspective of our national security as well as consideration of regional stability, peace and stability,” Jaiswal said. “India remains fully committed to meeting or safeguarding its national interest and we will take all necessary measures in this regard.”He repeated the same position when asked whether the agreement, described by Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif as “Islamic NATO”, was a matter of concern for India and whether New Delhi endorsed that description. Jaiswal did not endorse the term, saying only that India was assessing the pact’s implications for its national security and regional stability.The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all three, and commits the parties to strengthening defence cooperation.The agreement brings together Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing tensions in the region following the Iran war begun with attacks by US and Israel, and which spread to Iranian attacks on US military installations in gulf states. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in September 2025, under which aggression against either country was to be treated as aggression against both.During the briefing, in answer to a question about Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif calling Pakistan a victim of terrorism and urging Muslim countries to address challenges posed by India and Israel, Jaiswal said India did not need to identify which country was responsible for cross-border terrorism.“On the other issue of cross-border terrorism, I need not emphasise which country is responsible for cross-border terrorism and which is the epicentre of terrorism,” he said.