The Hindu Business Line : Engaging with Israel

The initiatives of Gen Pervez Musharraf to touch base with Israel were aimed at impressing US Senators and Congressmen preparing to vote on aid for Pakistan. Gen Musharraf's other objective was to equate Israeli policies on Palestine with what he labelled the "Indian Occupation" of Kashmir. But New Delhi has little to worry on that score. For India's commercial, economic and military ties with Israel are on a firm footing, says G. Parthasarathy.

JUST on the eve of its nuclear tests, on May 28, 1998, Pakistan summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad, Mr Satish Chandra, and alleged that Israeli F-16 aircraft based in Chennai were preparing to strike at its nuclear installations. The relaxed nature of the exchanges that day made it apparent that Pakistan was aiming to prepare domestic and public opinion for its forthcoming nuclear tests.

Not surprisingly, the Pakistan action was front-paged by the media in that country the next morning with the usual references to the "threat" that Islamic Pakistan faced from the "Hindu-Jewish Axis". The Israelis took all this in their stride.

Pakistan was, after all, maintaining secret contacts with Israel in Washington and elsewhere, swearing that it had nothing but goodwill for the Jewish state. Israel also realised that being an economic basket case, dependent on American assistance for its survival, Pakistan would in due course move towards a more public engagement with it.

In these circumstances it caused little surprise to those who understand the twists and turns of the Pakistani President, Gen Pervez Musharraf's policies, when his Foreign Minister, Mr Khurshid Kasuri, met his Israeli counterpart, Mr Silvan Shalom, in Istanbul and breathlessly announced that the withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza constituted a "turning point" for the establishment of a Palestinian State.

"Pakistan has, therefore, decided to engage with Israel," he proclaimed. His Israeli counterpart responded: "This is a historic meeting. We see the meeting as a beginning of open and useful mutual relations. I believe positive and full diplomatic ties will be established, but will take time."

The Israelis know that when Gen Musharraf is again desperate enough to secure American concessions, assistance and understanding, requiring endorsement by US Congress, he will move further ahead towards full diplomatic relations. This, despite present assertions by Gen Musharraf that full diplomatic ties with Israel will be in place only after the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Gen Musharraf claimed that he had secured the consent of both King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian President, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, to the proposed Kasuri-Shalom meeting. Mr Nabil Shaath the Deputy Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, however, contradicted this saying: "It is not good to give Israel gifts before it really implements the peace process, not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

The Hamas leader, Mr Hassan Yussef, remarked: "We condemn any relationship between an Islamic State and the Israelis and we ask Pakistan to go back on this agreement." The Palestinian President was even more devastating. He remarked: "I could not say no to him. So I said to him that as long as it will serve the Palestinian cause then why not."

Clearly on the defensive at home, Gen Musharraf got his Foreign Minister to admit what was well known: That clandestine contacts with Israel had existed for a long period. Details were leaked to the press in Pakistan about how Islamabad had supported the Anglo-French-Israeli attack on Egypt in 1956.

References were made to the contempt that then Foreign Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, had voiced for Arabs in a meeting he had with his Israeli Foreign counterpart in 1957 and of contacts between Mrs Benazir Bhutto's Interior Minister, Gen Nasrullah Babbar, and Mossad officials in the Philippines, when Gen Babbar sought Israeli assistance to crack down on the Mohajirs of Karachi. It was also revealed that Nepal had tried to broker relations between Pakistan and Israel in 1993.

It soon became evident that the newly-initiated contacts with Israel by Gen Musharraf were primarily aimed at impressing Senators and Congressmen in Washington who were preparing to vote on aid for Pakistan. There was yet another objective in Gen Musharraf's mind. Pakistan had for long tried without much success to equate Israeli policies on Palestine with what he labelled the "Indian Occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir.

His action was also meant to demonstrate that while progress had been made in resolving the Palestinian issue, India had blocked such progress vis-à-vis the Kashmir issue. Addressing a Jewish audience in New York on September 13, Gen Musharraf said: "It is necessary to urgently resolve conflicts and disputes, especially where these involve frictions between religions and faiths, for example Palestine and Kashmir." In characterising Kashmir as a religious dispute, Gen Musharraf betrayed why he characterises terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as a Jihad.

New Delhi can look with some amusement at Gen Musharraf's manoeuvres to please the Jewish lobby in Washington by demonstrating that he leads a "moderate Islamic country". Quite naturally, Israel is quite happy to be courted by yet another Islamic country.

Countries such as Turkey, the US and Nepal will continue to act as useful intermediaries to facilitate a slow but measurable improvement in Israel's relations with Pakistan. But India has little to worry on the score. Israel is after all not a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference where Pakistan can get it to condemn India every now and then.

More important, commercial, economic and military ties with India are booming. Trade with Israel touched around $2 billion in 2004. It registered a 23 per cent increase in the first six months of this year. India is set to replace China as Israel's largest trading partner in Asia. There are now over 170 Israeli joint ventures in India in agriculture, manufacture of irrigations systems, telecommunications and medical equipment. With the United States now voicing concern about Israel's military sales to China, India is becoming the primary centre in Asia for sale of sophisticated Israeli military equipment.

The Manmohan Singh Government started in a rather unsure manner the relations with Israel, considering its allies. The Left had suggested that military ties with Israel be ended. They seemed to ignore the fact that Beijing was acquiring military technology from Israel and even passing on some to Pakistan. Also, Mr Jyoti Basu had led a large delegation to Israel to seek economic collaboration.

The visits by Mr Kapil Sibal and Mr Sharad Pawar to Israel have set things right. The appointment of the sophisticated and experienced C. R. Gharekhan as the Special Envoy for the Middle East is also a welcome development. Mr Gharekhan has met with both Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Recognising the importance Mr of Gharekhan's visit to Gaza on November 18, the Palestinian Authority stated: "India, through its Special Envoy, can play an important role in bridging differences between the two parties."

Mr Gharekhan had earlier met the Israelis Vice-Premier, Mr Shimon Peres, and welcomed the agreement on opening the Gaza crossings that had been reached with the Palestinian Authority. Rather than playing a partisan role on West Asian issues, India is now trying to bring the parties concerned together to implement the "Road Map" to peace between the Palestinians and Israel that is designed to lead to the formation of a "viable" Palestinian State.

(The author is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan.)

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