New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- The Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defense pact, with the possibility of Islamabad guaranteeing Riyadh nuclear protection, is fraught with profound implications not just for India and the region but globally as well.

The pact is a two-country NATO-like alliance with the underpinnings that New Delhi ought to be deeply concerned about.

"The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both," a statement from the Pakistani prime minister's office was quoted as saying.

Needs Recalibration

That is where the rub lies for India whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi has over the years cultivated what he believed were special relations with Riyadh and its Crown Prince Mohammed...