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ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over the deepening strategic and defense partnership between India and Israel, warning that the growing nexus poses serious implications for regional peace and stability.
Responding to questions during his weekly press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad was closely monitoring the expansion of military ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, particularly in light of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel this week.
During the visit, both sides decided to further deepen bilateral cooperation, including in the strategic and defense fields, a development that has attracted attention in Islamabad.
“On India-Israel defense ties, yes, we remain busy with Israel-India defense ties, including the systems and platforms used by India against Pakistan,” Andrabi said.
He added that Pakistan was “alive to the threat they pose to our security and our sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as regional peace and stability.”
The spokesperson’s comments come in the context of last May’s four-day conflict between Pakistan and India, during which India used Israeli-made drones. The episode reinforced concerns in Pakistan about the operational dimension of the India-Israel defense partnership.
Reiterating Pakistan’s preparedness, Andrabi said Islamabad had “strong military preparedness to defend and deter any Indian aggression against Pakistan.”
The Ministry of External Affairs also strongly rejected India’s condemnation of Pakistan’s recent precision strikes on terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan.
Responding to a question about India’s foreign ministry’s statement criticizing Pakistan’s actions, Andrabi said: “We completely reject India’s statement.”
He said India’s statement was a vindication of Pakistan’s stance that New Delhi was supporting proxy groups.
Andrabi said New Delhi continues to “aiding and abetting terrorism in Pakistan through its support for the BLA, Fitna Al Hind and other terrorist organizations in the region.”
“We have concrete evidence of India’s involvement in sponsoring and complicity in terrorism,” he said, adding that India’s recent statements provided “further circumstantial evidence of India’s complicity in promoting terrorism in Pakistan.”
The spokesperson maintained that Pakistan’s actions were carried out in exercise of its right to self-defense and were based on verifiable intelligence information.
Amid escalating tensions along the western border, Andrabi clarified that there is currently no structured dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“There is no structured dialogue for now,” he said, responding to a question about possible diplomatic engagement following recent cross-border incidents.
While underscoring Pakistan’s respect for the Afghan people and the historical ties between the two countries, he identified the core problem as the presence of terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil and enjoying impunity.
“The controversial issue is the terrorist groups that operate in Afghanistan and the official support and impunity offered to that terrorism,” he stated.
The spokesperson also emphasized that Pakistan will continue to respond “swiftly and firmly” in exercising its right to self-defense, while raising the issue in bilateral, regional and multilateral forums, including the counter-terrorism mechanisms of the UN Security Council.
The developments highlight rising regional tensions, with Islamabad becoming increasingly wary of strategic convergence between India and Israel and the evolving security situation along its western border.
