Islamabad, Pakistan – When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped off the airplane in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for his second go to to Israel, and the primary by any Indian premier since his personal landmark journey in 2017, the symbolism was unmistakable.
He was given a red-carpet welcome by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a head of presidency who’s dealing with an Worldwide Felony Court docket arrest warrant and prosecuting a conflict in Gaza that a lot of the world has condemned as genocide.
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But Modi’s go to signalled not hesitation, however a wholehearted endorsement to broaden India’s strategic embrace of Israel.
Days earlier than his arrival, Netanyahu introduced at a cupboard assembly what he described as a “hexagon of alliances”, a proposed regional framework putting India at its centre alongside Greece, Cyprus and unnamed Arab, African and Asian states.
Its declared objective was to counter what he referred to as “radical axes, each the unconventional Shia axis, which we now have struck very arduous, and the rising radical Sunni axis”.
In a area the place Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been amongst Israel’s most outspoken critics, and the place Saudi Arabia and Pakistan formalised a Strategic Mutual Defence Settlement in September 2025 – all three Sunni-majority nations – the define of what Tel Aviv might view as this “axis” shouldn’t be tough to discern.
Towards that backdrop, India’s deepening alignment with Israel instantly impacts – and will reshape – Islamabad’s strategic calculus in an already unstable area, say analysts.
Increasing defence and expertise ties
The India-Israel relationship has accelerated sharply since Modi’s 2017 go to. India is now Israel’s largest arms buyer, and the agenda this week spans defence, synthetic intelligence, quantum computing and cybersecurity.
A brand new categorised framework is predicted to open exports from Israel of beforehand restricted navy {hardware} to India. Among the many techniques reportedly underneath dialogue is Israel’s Iron Beam, a 100kW-class high-energy laser weapon inducted into the Israeli military in December 2025. Cooperation on Iron Dome missile defence expertise switch for native manufacturing can also be into consideration.
For Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to each america and the United Nations, the go to marks a decisive second.
“Information popping out suggests they’ll signal a particular strategic settlement, one which might be seen as a counterpart to the settlement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia final 12 months,” he mentioned. “Israel already has such particular agreements with international locations just like the US and Germany.”
Masood Khalid, a former Pakistani ambassador to China, pointed to this navy dimension.
“We noticed how Israeli drones labored within the India-Pakistan battle towards us final 12 months,” he mentioned, referring to India’s use of Israeli-origin platforms through the Might 2025 strikes towards Pakistan, when the South Asian neighbours waged an intense four-day aerial conflict. “Public statements from each side converse of strengthening strategic cooperation – significantly in defence, counterterrorism, cybersecurity and AI.”
India’s defence ties with Israel aren’t any one-way avenue any extra. Throughout Israel’s conflict on Gaza in 2024, Indian arms corporations provided rockets and explosives to Tel Aviv, an Al Jazeera investigation confirmed.
Umer Karim, an affiliate fellow on the Riyadh-based King Faisal Heart for Analysis and Islamic Research, sees the partnership as a part of a wider recalibration.
“It’s clear that India has entered right into a strategic partnership with Israel, and at a time when each governments have been criticised for his or her actions, this bilateral relationship has grow to be more and more essential for each,” he informed Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu’s ‘hexagon’ and Pakistan
Netanyahu’s hexagon proposal stays undefined. He has promised an “organised presentation” at a later date.
Whereas Israel believes it has weakened what the Israeli PM described because the “Shia axis” via its 2024-2025 marketing campaign towards Iran-aligned teams similar to Hezbollah and Hamas, the “rising radical Sunni axis” is much less clearly articulated.
Analysts recommend it might discuss with states and actions aligned with strands of political Islam and sharply vital of Israeli coverage, together with Turkiye and international locations which have strengthened safety ties with Riyadh and Ankara, as Pakistan has. Pakistan can also be the one Muslim nation with nuclear weapons – one thing that has lengthy apprehensive Israel: Within the Eighties, Israel tried to recruit India for a joint navy operation towards a nuclear facility in Pakistan, however backed off the plan after New Delhi abstained.
Karim was satisfied about Pakistan’s place in Netanyahu’s crosshairs.
“Completely, Pakistan is a part of this so-called radical Sunni axis,” he mentioned, arguing that Pakistan’s strategic settlement with Riyadh and its shut ties with Turkiye instantly have an effect on Israel’s calculations. “To be able to counter this, Israel will improve its defence cooperation and intel sharing with Delhi.”
Khalid pointed to longstanding intelligence hyperlinks.
“Intelligence sharing between Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad dates again to the sixties. So their strengthened interplay on this area must be of great concern for us,” he mentioned, referring to the exterior intelligence companies of India and Israel.
Others urge warning. Gokhan Ereli, an Ankara-based unbiased Gulf researcher, argued that Pakistan is unlikely to be an specific goal inside Israel’s framing.
“On this context, Pakistan is extra plausibly affected not directly, via the alignment of Israeli, Indian and Western risk narratives, than being singled out as a destabilising actor in its personal proper,” he informed Al Jazeera.
Khan, the previous ambassador, agreed.
“I don’t understand a direct risk, however the latent animosity is there. And when Modi is in Tel Aviv, he’ll attempt to poison Netanyahu and different leaders there to consider Pakistan in a hostile manner,” he mentioned.
Muhammad Shoaib, assistant professor of worldwide relations at Quaid-i-Azam College, echoed that evaluation.
“India’s shut relations with Israel are more likely to negatively impression Tel Aviv’s notion and statements on Pakistan,” he mentioned.
The Gulf balancing act
Maybe probably the most complicated enviornment for Pakistan is the Gulf. For many years, it has relied on Gulf companions for monetary assist, together with rolled-over loans and remittances that kind a vital pillar of its economic system.
After signing the Strategic Mutual Defence Settlement with Saudi Arabia final September, discussions have intensified about Turkiye becoming a member of the same framework. But the United Arab Emirates, one in all Pakistan’s closest Gulf companions, signed a strategic settlement with India in January 2026.
Khalid referred to as for deeper financial integration to underpin these ties.
“Pakistan is doing nicely to strengthen its bilateral ties with key Center East international locations, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait,” he mentioned, “however other than GCC, Pakistan additionally wants to advertise regional cooperation, significantly with international locations of Central Asia, Turkiye, Iran and Russia. Geoeconomics via larger commerce and connectivity must be the idea of this regional cooperation.” The Gulf Cooperation Council consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Complicating issues additional is Iran’s central position in present regional tensions. With Washington threatening potential navy motion towards Iran, and Israel urgent for regime change in Tehran, Pakistan has quietly sought to ease tensions by arguing for diplomacy.
“However there are two major events – Iran and the US – after which, most significantly, Israel, which doesn’t simply restrict its calls for to a nuclear deal,” Khan, the previous diplomat mentioned. “It needs to broaden to Iran’s missile defence capabilities and regional alliances, and that could be a sticking level. Pakistan’s aspiration is to contribute to efforts to discover a diplomatic resolution.”
Strategic contest
In the end, Pakistan’s policymakers should assess whether or not ties with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are robust sufficient to offset the increasing India-Israel partnership.
Modi and Netanyahu body their safety doctrines round countering what they describe as “Islamic radicalism”. New Delhi has repeatedly accused Pakistan of fomenting violence towards India.
But Khan argued that Islamabad shouldn’t be with out leverage.
“We’ve got constructed a firewall round us by pushing again Indian aggression in Might 2025, and by strengthening our ties with the US during the last 12 months,” he mentioned.
