Pakistan is in tension due to PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel. Emphasis was laid on defence, cyber security and AI cooperation between India and Israel. Hexagon and Iron Alliance proposal may increase Pakistan’s strategic concerns.
PM Modi Israel Visit Impact on Pakistan: PM Modi’s visit to Israel has attracted the attention of the whole world. During this visit, many important deals and agreements related to defence, cyber security and weapons were signed between India and Israel, which has increased the tension of Pakistan to some extent. Experts believe that India’s increasing proximity with Israel can become a security challenge for the Pakistani Army.
Iron Alliance increased Pakistan’s concern
According to the report of Al-Jazeera, in the presence of PM Modi, Netanyahu mentioned the ‘Iron Alliance’, the purpose of which was said to be to combat Islamic fundamentalism. Analysts believe that countries like Türkiye and Pakistan may view such an alliance with suspicion.
India-Israel Relations: Booming after 2017
India-Israel relations have gained momentum after Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and especially his visit to Tel Aviv in 2017. Today India is considered to be Israel’s biggest arms buyer. Apart from the defense sector, both the countries are also increasing cooperation in emerging areas like Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing and Cyber Security. Masood Khan, former ambassador of Pakistan to America, believes that many strategic agreements to be signed during PM Modi’s visit to Israel can be seen as a counter to the agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year. Israel already has such strategic agreements with countries like America and Germany.
Netanyahu Hexagon Proposal: Why worry about Pakistan?
At the same time, former Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khalid said that during the India-Pakistan tension last year, Israeli drones were used against Pakistan. Now cooperation is being further strengthened in areas like defence, counter terrorism, cyber security and AI. Netanyahu’s Hexagon proposal is still in its initial stages, but it has aspects that may make countries like Pakistan uncomfortable. Analysts believe that this alliance will be against those countries and groups that are associated with Political Islam and criticize Israel’s policies. Pakistan is the only Muslim country in the world which has nuclear weapons. This fact has long been a strategic concern of Israel. Also, Pakistan is considered part of a Sunni axis with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. In such a situation, Israel can further increase defense cooperation and intelligence sharing with India.
Gulf Countries Factor: Pakistan’s economic concerns
Pakistan’s concern is not limited only to India-Israel proximity. He also has his eyes on the Gulf countries. For decades, Pakistan has been dependent on Gulf countries for economic help. This includes roll-over loans and remittances from Pakistanis working abroad. Pakistan wants to maintain strong relations with Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, as they are very important for its economy.