Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprising trip to Israel seems to have rattled both Pakistan and Turkey. Even before its conclusion, editorials and op-eds appeared in the media, voicing apprehension at the visit and indulging in fear-mongering about how India and Israel, "representing Hindutva and Zionism" - characterised as "two evils" - were joining forces against Muslims. According to those reports, this was seen as the sole purpose of Modi's visit and the underlying premise on which the Indo-Israeli partnership is based. Accusations range from outright demonisation to the hilariously absurd.
But why is Islamabad so rattled with Modi's Israel visit? After all, India and Israel are known to share a close defence partnership for decades. There is nothing new with that. Sure, the recent visit yielded 16 agreements, but nothing spectacularly new in defence was announced. Moreover, there is no military alliance between the two countries; in fact, India does not have any such arrangement with any country, not even with its close friend and strategic partner Russia.
Hypocrisy 101
On the other hand, just very recently, Pakistan was chest-thumping over its announcement of setting up an "Islamic NATO". It also concluded a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year, soon after India's Operation Sindoor. The triumphalism was hard to miss, especially given that India had invested a great deal in the India-Saudi partnership while the once-tight relations between the Saudis and Pakistanis had waned. The rejuvenation of its old ties with the Saudis was thus like a Godsend to Pakistan, promising resources for its struggling economy and, potentially, more cutting-edge hardware for its military. Specifically, the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between the two envisaged the two countries treating any aggression against either as an attack on both, thus laying the ground for joint deterrence and military cooperation. This would seem to be a hedge for Pakistan against any future military action by India.
This apparent strategic victory was complemented soon by the announcement that another close pal of Pakistan, Turkey, was joining the alliance. A NATO member, Turkey, with its largest standing army in the bloc, is a formidable military power. Its participation in this trilateral was enough to give the world nightmares.
Important Questions For Pakistan
Now, who this "Islamic NATO" was aimed at was anyone's guess. The announcement came soon after Israel launched unprecedented airstrikes on Qatar to take on Hamas - which, apparently, was shielding the outfit. For Pakistan, its greatest strategic threat remains India. For Turkey, too, Israel, once a friend, has come to represent its greatest security challenge over the past few years; its relations with India, too, have been nosediving over the past few years.
So, why would Pakistan, or even Turkey for that matter, now take umbrage even if an India-Israel military alliance, along the lines of the strategic "hexagon" that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined, comes to fruition?
True, the Islamic NATO plan has been shelved - at least for now - given the deep divisions between the KSA and Turkey. But Pakistan's close strategic partnership with the country continues.
Pak's Sweet Spot - For Once
In fact, diplomatically, Pakistan has been in rather a sweet spot since the end of Operation Sindoor. Throughout the operation, it got unwavering support from its "brothers" Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as from its "iron friend" China. After the operation, the administration of US President Donald Trump embraced Pakistan in a way US administrators have not done in the past two decades. This has opened doors for more monetary bailouts for Pakistan's cash-strapped economy from organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan is seemingly in a prominent position on the Trump-convened Board of Peace, and is expected to bag a considerable piece of the Gaza reconstruction pie. Countries like Azerbaijan and Indonesia have placed defence orders with it. Most recently, the presidents of regional powerhouses Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan paid official visits to Islamabad. All of this points to the country's diplomatic comfort, far from the 'isolation' Pakistan is used to moaning about.
Crying 'Ummah', Cutting Deals
So, why is Pakistan so anguished by India's partnership with Israel? Could it be that despite the diplomatic niceties, the strongly worded agreements, Pakistan realises that while India and Israel are true partners, its own partnerships are anchored in a more servile, client-state paradigm? For instance, despite the clause of treating any aggression against either as an aggression against both in the Saudi-Pakistan pact, the ensuing conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban did not see any Saudi participation.
Similarly, in spite of the rhetoric around an Islamic NATO, the concern for the Muslim ummah remains mere lip service, a useful ideological prop for relationships that are actually transactional in nature. Just consider: if aligning itself with Israel is to sleep with the Devil, then many Muslim countries are guilty of the same, including Pakistan's "brother" Azerbaijan, which has emerged as one of Israel's largest arms buyers over the past many years. Both Pakistan and Turkey are mum on Azerbaijan's blossoming relations with Israel in the wake of the Gaza conflict and open hostility to the Palestinians.
While the Turkish press laments the recruitment of Indian labour by Israel (as it will replace Palestinian labour) it has never highlighted that since October 2023, when the Gaza war broke out, Turkey has not once considered stopping the transit of Azeri gas to Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians whose cause it keeps championing. Why? Because doing so would have been to deprive itself of lucrative transit fees.
Fear Is The Best Campaign
Perhaps fear-mongering is essential for Pakistan to keep the focus away from its own shortcomings against its own citizens and fellow Muslim countries. All the conflicts that the country is currently embroiled in - internally with the Baloch, or in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and externally with the Afghan Taliban - are all with fellow Muslims and have claimed the lives of hundreds of women and children. Something Pakistan blames India (falsely) for.
Perhaps also, demonising India serves to hide a greater concern: shedding Palestinian blood. For, in spite of its alignment with Israel, India also shares close ties with a range of actors in West Asia, including with the Palestinians. Since the Gaza war broke out, India has regularly sent humanitarian aid to Gaza and has continued to steadfastly adhere to a two-state solution - a Palestinian state existing in peace alongside an Israeli state. A case in point: the very day that Modi was addressing the Knesset, India announced a range of fully funded scholarships for Palestinian students.
It is Pakistan that is guilty of having Palestinian blood on its hands in what has come to be known as the infamous Black September events of 1970, when it deployed troops in Jordan to help its King Hussein quell the challenge to its rule mounted by Palestinian refugees. Perhaps these concerns are once again haunting Pakistan as President Trump demands that Pakistan deploy its troops in Gaza now.
Or is it simple envy? The India-Israel agreements, spanning agriculture, irrigation and space, prove that the two countries think beyond security and war, without using the fig leaf of a common religion.
What exactly is it? We can only guess.
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
