The contrasting stances of India and Pakistan on the growing hostilities between Israel and Palestine would not result in escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, a Pakistani geopolitical commentator has said.
The comments of Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, director of the School of Politics and International Relations, at Pakistan's premier Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, come in the wake of Pakistan taking the side of Palestine (read Hamas) and the Indian leadership expressing solidarity with Israel.
The comments of Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, director of the School of Politics and International Relations, at Pakistan's premier Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, come in the wake of Pakistan taking the side of Palestine (read Hamas) and the Indian leadership expressing solidarity with Israel.
New Delhi, Islamabad Poles Apart
Following Hamas surprise assault on Israel on Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the attacks on its territory as an act of terrorism. He reiterated his government's support for the Jewish state in its "difficult hour" during a phone call with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seemed to have backed the Hamas attack on Israel, though he did not mention the Palestinian military movement in his post on social media.
Furthermore, he blamed "Israel's illegal occupation" for inciting the attack.
"Ending Israel's illegal occupation, settlement expansion on Palestinian land, and oppression against innocent Palestinians are key for peace, justice, and prosperity in the region. I am not surprised by today's events," he wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.
"What else can one expect when Israel continues to deny Palestinians their legitimate right to self-determination and statehood? What else, after daily provocations, attacks by occupation forces and settlers, and raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites of Christianity and Islam?" he added.
No Chance of Escalation of Tensions Between India, Pakistan
In this light, Jaspal emphasized that Pakistan has always supported the formation of an independent State of Palestine.
"But Indian Prime Minister Modi took a U-turn on Palestinian rights," he told Sputnik India on Wednesday.
Having said that, Jaspal underlined that divisions between India and Pakistan on the matter would not escalate tensions in the neighborhood.
"The conflict would not escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. But it would increase radicalized militancy in Islamic countries or nations with large Muslim populations," the Islamabad-based academic noted.
India's Changed Stance on the Conflict
Interestingly, like Pakistan, India has been a champion of the Palestinian cause, having backed the two-state solution to the hilt for decades. But with Hamas fighters killing children, the elderly, and even adolescents, the militant group's barbarism seemed to have played a part in the Indian response to the crisis.
In this context, New Delhi-based West Asia analyst Fazzur Rahman Siddiqui, who is a research fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), criticized the Pakistani statement, accusing Islamabad of always supporting terrorism.
According to him, what Pakistan says or does is none of India's business now, as New Delhi has moved beyond Islamabad.
According to him, what Pakistan says or does is none of India's business now, as New Delhi has moved beyond Islamabad.
Pakistan Backs Radical Groups, India Denounces All Forms of Terrorism
He stressed that what Pakistan is doing is in the context of its internal politics, where it wants to be seen as the champion of the Muslim cause, while India denounces terrorism in every form and everywhere in the world.
"It is for Pakistan to support Hamas, or the Taliban in Afghanistan but their policies or support to such militant organizations has no relation with India. Because New Delhi has its own independent strategic, political, diplomatic, and military autonomy," Siddiqui said in a conversation with Sputnik India.
He opined that what Pakistan is doing is part of their foreign policy ideology, as the neighboring country has supported terrorism for decades.
"Moreover, India cannot confine its foreign policy to what Pakistan is doing or what it says as New Delhi cannot take its decisions through the prism of Islamabad," Siddiqui summed up.