ISLAMABAD – During his recent visit to India, the Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu in an interview given to an Indian magazine TimesNow said: “We (Israel) are not enemies of Pakistan and Pakistan should notbe our enemy either.” Termed as a high profile six day visit along with ateam of 130 member delegation composed of investors and businessmen, it wasviewed with suspicion by Pakistan as another evidence of the deepening ofIndo-Israeli nexus.
Netanyahu’s assurance to Islamabad dispelling fears of his visit to Indiawas perhaps in response to the reaction of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister inwhich he asserted that both India and Israel possess anti-Islam nexus. ThatIsrael is in occupation of vast Palestinian lands and India is involved inthe brutal suppression of Kashmiri freedom movement.
What is the reality of Indo-Israeli nexus and how it is impacting onPakistan? What should be Pakistan’s policy approach on growingcollaboration between Israel and India particularly as witnessed during therecent visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to India amidst protests againsthis visit launched by the Indian Communist Party.?
It is true that Pakistan and Israel are not neighbours and there are nodirect conflicts between the two countries. Yet, Pakistan considers Israelas an occupier of Arab lands and the holy city of Jerusalem and fullysupports the PLO for its struggle against Israel. If the Israeli PrimeMinister Netanyahu during his visit to India ruled out Pakistan as theenemy of Israel, it was primarily the outcome of long concerted Israelieffort to neutralise the second populous Muslim country and the only statein the Muslim world with nuclear weapons. Reportedly, during the last dayswhile in power of former President General Pervez Musharraf, secret andbackchannel talks were launched between Pakistan and Israel to grant mutualrecognition but such efforts were abandoned because of political turmoil asa sequel to lawyer’s movement against his regime.
Instead of maintaining direct relations with Israel, which is the case withmajority of the members of the UN, it makes sense for Pakistan to maintainbackchannel contacts with the Jewish state in order to have an insightabout any paradigm shift in Israeli policy on Pakistan
The reality of Indo-Israeli nexus is the result of post-cold war realitiesin which the isolation of Israeli at the international level diminished. By1994-95 majority of the members of the UN, including India and China hadrecognized Israel and established diplomatic relations with the Jewishstate. In fact, the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to India took placeto celebrate 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel andIndia. Earlier in June 2017, the Indian Prime Minister had paid a visit toIsrael.
‘During quarter of a century of their ties, particularly during the tenureof Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indo-Israeli relations reached attheir maximum zenith. Now, military, intelligence, economic and politicalrelations between Israel and India are deep rooted. Prime Minister Modi,while expressing warmth for his Israeli counterpart, received him at thePalam Airport, Delhi by saying that “my good friend, welcome to India.” TheIsraeli Prime Minister reciprocated by stating that, “This is the dawn of anew era in the great friendship between India and Israel.” India and Israelagreed to deepen their trade relations by reaching a free trade agreement.Indo-Israeli trade which was only $ 200 million in 1992 has reached $ 4.16billion in 2016. And during his visit to India, the Israeli Prime Ministermade it clear it was not aimed against any third country but is “directedto achieve greater prosperity and greater security for our people, betterhealth, cleaner air, clean water, more productive crops, more milk per cow.”
Pakistan’s policy approach on Indo-Israel collaboration needs to be basedon three major realities. First, the policy must not be reactive orrhetorical in nature but must reflect political realism. What the PakistanForeign Minister commented on Netanyahu’s visit to India was not inconformity with pragmatic approach, a fact which needs to be analysed byminimum Israeli chagrin against Pakistan. Truly, Indo-Israeli cooperationin defence and military fields tends to cause a degree of insecurity inPakistan particularly the reports of Israeli assistance rendered to Indiato deal with insurgency in its parts of Jammu and Kashmir. It is believedthat the more Pakistan will turn against Israel, the more the Israeligovernment will deepen its strategic, military, defence and technologicalties with New Delhi. So the reality of India taking advantage of Pakistan’santi-Israeli approach for the pursuance of its own interests makes sense.The stance taken by the spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of ForeignAffairs that his country was closely observing the growing nexus betweenIndia and Israel makes sense because he didn’t launch a sweeping tiradeagainst the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to India.
Second, Pakistan’s policy approach to equate Israel and the United Statesand including India in what Islamabad calls as a tripartite allianceagainst the Muslim world is counter-productive. Certainly, the decision ofthe U.S President Donald Trump to shift American embassy from Tel Aviv toJerusalem cannot be endorsed because of the illegal occupation of EastJerusalem by Israel since June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, but the reality isdespite the rejection of that decision by the majority of the members ofthe UN, nothing has changed on the ground which can force Washington toreverse its decision.
Israel knows that it is now isolated because of its non-compliance of UNSecurity Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Israel from theArab occupied areas, including West Bank. The Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani,while speaking on the occasion of 13th session of the Parliamentary Unionof Islamic Countries held in Tehran in January this year termed what hebelieved “emerging nexus of the United States, India and Israel as a majorthreat to the Muslim world.” In fact, what the Senate Chairman said inTehran may be true, yet if it becomes an official policy of Pakistan topursue a confrontational approach with Israel and the United States, theresult may be detrimental for the country. Third, instead of maintainingdirect relations with Israel, which is the case with majority of themembers of the UN, it makes sense for Pakistan to maintain backchannelcontacts with the Jewish state in order to have an insight about anyparadigm shift in Israeli policy on Pakistan. After all, regardless ofIsraeli brutalities vis-à-vis the Palestinians, it is the strongest powerin the Middle East and no Arab country has been able to challenge theIsraeli power.
At the heart of Pakistan’s policy approach vis-à-vis Israel is Islamabad’sage-old apprehension about Indo-Israeli nexus to target Pakistan’s nuclearweapon’s program. Realistically speaking, unlike the Israeli success indestroying Iraqi nuclear reactor in June 1981 near Baghdad, such aprobability is quite less in case of Pakistan. Yet, huge trust deficit inPakistan-Israel perceptions and their ‘enemy images’ is a major reality andthe two countries cannot proceed for establishing diplomatic relationsunless Israeli policy on the Arab occupied areas changes and apprehensionsof Islamabad about growing Indo-Israeli nexus are dispelled throughpeaceful and diplomatic means.
By: Moonis Ahmar