Indo-Israel ties ring alarm bells in power corridors of Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel has rung alarm bells in Pakistan for many top government officials, defence analysts and politicians there believe both Modi and Netanyahu must be conspiring against Islamabad.

"Israel and India has long been involved in causing unrest in Pakistan. Modi's visit to Israel and signing of defence deals is something Pakistan must be worry about," said a senior official in Pakistan's foreign office.

On Tuesday, the power corridors of Islamabad were abuzz with speculations that the India-Israel nexus would turn out to be a major threat to Pakistan's existence.

"They (India and Israel) must be conspiring against Pakistan," Asif Kirmani, special advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told reporters on Tuesday. Aamir Ghauri, London-based analyst and founder of South Asia Future Forum, said Modi's visit to Israel after his bear hugs with US President Donald Trump in Washington define the contour of India's global, regional and local foreign policy.

"He seems to be playing his cards pretty deftly vis-a-vis the Middle East by being overtly pro-US as the cold war between Riyadh and Tehran heats up once again. It, however, remains to be seen if his slant towards the US delivers as the US and its allies have a history of ditching partners in need. India may be an exception," Ghauri told MAIL TODAY.

Ahead of Modi's visit to Israel, India and the Jewish state had signed USD 1.6 billion (Rs 10,400 crore) mega defence deals that raised several eyebrows in Pakistan. Prime Ministers of India and Israel not only endorsed the deal during Modi's visit to Israel but also inked various other deals in the fields of agriculture and space technology that has irked several analysts in Pakistan.

However, the defence deal between India and Israel is the major issue that has rung alarms bells in Pakistan. As per reports, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply advanced mediumrange surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) systems to New Delhi, which are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles and drones at a range of 70-km.

Israel has long been a major supplier of arms to India but those deals have deliberately been kept secret by both.