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Israel-India Defense Link Worries Pakistanis
KARACHI, Dec. 27 (IslamOnline) - Growing defense cooperation between India and Israel worries most Pakistanis who consider it an attempt to crush the freedom movement in occupied Kashmir, sources said Thursday.
Under the recent two billion dollar defense deal between the two countries, Israel will be providing the latest communications and electronic equipment and other weaponry to India. Some Pakistanis say the pact sends alarming signals regarding the country's security.
"Pakistan has conveyed its concern over the recent defense deal between India and Israel, which might turn out to be a security concern for us," a senior foreign office official told IslamOnline.
The general mood in Pakistan is overwhelmingly against the Israeli-Indian defense relationship, compounding current tensions on Pakistani-Indian border. Local newspapers published in different parts of the country in three main languages - English, Urdu and Sindhi - are continuously asking the military government to take serious note of the recent defense deal between the two countries.
English- and Sindhi-language newspapers are also adding their voice to the concern over the Indian-Israeli nexus, primarily because of Israel's involvement in the deal. There are some differences among the masses, particularly in the interior parts of southern Sindh province, and southeastern Baluchistan province, over Kashmir issue. But there is overwhelming support in Pakistani for Palestinian statehood, of which the Israelis are quelling.
"Pakistan has to be very careful because the communications equipment which India is going to procure [from Israel] are used for in-depth espionage," Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, a senior defense analyst and deputy Editor of Pakistan's largest English daily,
Dawn, told IslamOnline. He added that the proposed communications equipment would definitely be used against Pakistan and the freedom movement in the held valley.
Siddiqui said that India had succeeded in crushing the Khalistan (Sikh) movement in East Punjab in the late 1980s with the help of Israel, and that India was going to use the same tactic in Indian-occupied Kashmir. But, he observed, the task would not be an easy one as there was a huge difference between the two movements and the geography of the two areas.
"Although Pakistan had been supporting the Khalistan movement, it was not to the extent which is in case of occupied Kashmir," Siddiqui contended. "East Punjab is a flat land, where the Israeli communication devices worked as per desired, but occupied Kashmir is a mountaineer region, and its weather is also a barricade in the smooth functioning of these devices."
Secondly, Kashmir borders both Pakistan and China, and local movements can get support from the two countries, whereas this advantage was lacking in the Khalistan movement, he maintained.
Siddiqui, who expressed some anger over the reaction of Arab world on Indian-Israeli defense cooperation, added that the overall reaction, except one or two countries, was not commensurate with the gravity of crises.
Although Syria, Jordan and Lebanon have signed some defense deals with Pakistan, and are eager to enhance cooperation in other fields with Pakistan, India generally has had good relations with the Arab world.
"I am not blaming the Arab people," Siddiqui added, "who are overwhelmingly against this nexus, but I am only talking about the Arab governments."
Professor Shamim Akhtar, a former Chairman of the International Relations Department, University of Karachi, and a senior leader of Al-Aqsa Foundation, observed that India had adopted a two-pronged policy. He argued that New Delhi was boosting military and defense ties with Israel, while on the other hand criticizing Israeli policies towards the Palestinians.
"If Pakistan thinks that its so-called expression of concern or protest can contribute something in its favor, this is wrong because America is also favoring India-Israel nexus against Pakistan. It [the U.S.] cannot do that apparently because Pakistan is its partner in so-called international campaign against terrorism," Akhtar maintained.
He added that he hoped there would be a shift in Arab governments' policies towards India after the said defense deal. He is also optimistic that India could not suppress the "indigenous" freedom movement in Kashmir as France could not do the same in Algeria.
Increasing cooperation of any kind between India and Israel is posing a great security concern to Pakistan, and the Arab world too, said Allam Shabih Raza Zaidi, the central leader of the pro-Iran Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan (TJP) which represents Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.
This, he said, was dangerous for the Arab world because Israel was generating lare amounts of money through defense deals that would ultimately be used to crush the just movement of Palestinian Muslims.
"If India thinks that it could contain or suppress freedom movement in occupied Kashmir, this is nothing but a childish thinking. [The] Kashmiri movement is an indigenous movement backed by the whole Muslim
ummah [commumity]," he argued.
"We do not expect anything favorable on the part of America, Israel and India. They all are the enemies of Muslims and Pakistan," said Muhammad Bashir, a shopkeeper in a cloth wholesale market in Karachi.
"If General Musharraf thinks that he can get something for Pakistan from America by joining hands with it [the U.S.] in its war against Afghan Muslims, he is totally wrong," concluded an emotional Bashir. "America has given a free hand to India and Israel to do whatever they want against Palestinians and Kashmiris."
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