THE dual spectacles of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile embrace of Tel Aviv and the subsequent joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian soil have sent shockwaves across the Middle East, signaling a volatile new era in regional geopolitics.

These developments are not merely external shifts; they represent a calculated abandonment of India’s so-called strategic autonomy in favour of a belligerent alignment that threatens the fragile stability of the Islamic world and Pakistan’s immediate neighborhood.

Modi’s visit to Israel (Occupied Palestine) was meticulously timed to coincide with an escalation of hostilities against Tehran. By addressing the Knesset and offering unconditional solidarity to Benjamin Netanyahu just as missiles were being prepared for Iranian targets, New Delhi has effectively ended its balancing act. This transition from a de-hyphenated foreign policy to a full-scale partnership in the US-Israeli security architecture is a cause for profound alarm. It suggests that India is no longer a neutral economic player in West Asia but an active participant in an axis aimed at destabilizing regional powers that resist Western hegemony.

The implications for the Iran-Pakistan-India triangle are particularly stark. For years, New Delhi touted the Chabahar Port as a centerpiece of its regional connectivity, often framing it as a rival to Pakistan’s Gwadar. However, this risky bet is now crumbling. By aligning so closely with Israel(Occupied Palestine) during an active military conflict with Iran, India has effectively sabotaged its own investments. Tehran is unlikely to view India as a reliable partner while Modi provides diplomatic cover for the very forces striking Iranian infrastructure. This strategic blunder hands a moral and logistical advantage to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as regional players seek more stable, less ideologically compromised partners for trade.

Perhaps most concerning is the social backlash facing the millions of Indian workers in the Gulf. Pakistan has long shared the regional workspace with the Indian diaspora, but New Delhi’s new stance puts these migrants in an impossible position. India’s perceived complicity with the “Greater Israel” vision makes its citizens targets of public anger in GCC. Pakistan, which has maintained a principled stance on Palestinian sovereignty and regional de-escalation, finds itself in a position to contrast its people-centric diplomacy with India’s militarized alignment.

Ultimately, India’s gamble is a windfall for those who warned of New Delhi’s hegemonistic ambitions. By importing the Middle East’s most volatile fault lines into its foreign policy, India has sacrificed its standing in the Global South. From Islamabad’s vantage point, the “Modi-Netanyahu” doctrine is a recipe for regional catastrophe. It invites instability to the doorsteps of South Asia, threatens energy security and endangers the lives of millions. This doctrine signals the birth of a new axis of aggression that threatens to set the entire region ablaze, trading long-term stability for a short-sighted and dangerous military alignment.

—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.

© Pakistan Observer