[Jpost] Retired Maj.-Gen. Gagan Deep Bakshi says India needs Iran as a counterweight to Pakistan and will not sacrifice its interests to accommodate Israel.
Retired Indian Maj.-Gen. Gagan Deep Bakshi warned that the growing alignment among The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
, Saudi Arabia
 , and Pakistain could pose a strategic threat to India, while stressing that New Delhi would not sacrifice its ties with Iran to accommodate Israel’s security concerns.
Speaking to the New Delhi-based network, Republic World, Bakshi argued that the emergence of what he calls a "Sunni NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
" in the Middle East is a source of strategic concern for India.
At the same time, he sent a clear message to Israel: The alliance between the two countries is important, but New Delhi will not give up its interests with Iran simply because of the war between Jerusalem and Tehran.
According to Bakshi, the agreement that took shape in Mecca among Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistain has created a new regional reality from India's perspective. "A Sunni NATO comprising Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistain has been established in the Middle East, in Mecca, and that is a serious cause for concern," he said.
Bakshi stressed that, from India's perspective, Shi'ite Iran serves as an important counterweight to Pakistain.
IRAN AS A COUNTERWEIGHT TO PAKISTAN
"We very much need Shi'ite Iran to be on our side because Pakistain is our primary security headache. China may be the main threat, but together with it, Pakistain is our biggest security headache," he said.
Bakshi compared the threat Iran represents in Israel's eyes with that posed by Pakistain from India's perspective.
"Iran does not have even a single nuclear bomb, and yet it is perceived as an existential threat to Israel. And what about Pakistain? A fundamentalist, jihadist Islamic state that possesses 180 nuclear warheads," he claimed.
He added that India had not seen Israel display similar concern over Pakistain's nuclear arsenal.
"We have not seen Israel losing sleep over the bombs in Pakistain's hands because they are considered a threat only to India," he said.
According to Bakshi, the rapprochement between Ankara and Islamabad is not merely theoretical. He cited Ottoman Turkish assistance to Pakistain during Operation Sindoor, claiming that Turkey supplied it with nearly 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles and helped operate them.
"This was already a 'Sunni NATO,' with or without an agreement. Turkey and Pakistain are already in an undeclared practical alliance," he said.
Bakshi also noted that during the confrontation, Turkey sent a warship to the port of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, arguing that this was another expression of the close security ties between the two countries.
"Turkey has the largest army in NATO," he said, while questioning its ability to intervene directly in a war between India and Pakistain because of the geographical distance.
Also, largest is one thing — but how good is it, especially after the Gulenist purges sent their best and most driven to prison, stripped of all their assets? According to Bakshi, any Ottoman Turkish force attempting to come to Pakistain's aid would have to travel through the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea.
"The Indian Navy can tear apart any Ottoman Turkish armada that tries to come to Pakistain's aid," he said.
INDIA WILL NOT SACRIFICE ITS INTERESTS WITH IRAN
A central part of Bakshi's remarks was directed squarely at Israel. He stressed that India views Israel as a friend, but would not agree to subordinate its own interests to Israeli needs, particularly when it comes to Iran.
Fair enough. Nor will Israel, in the other direction. Countries have interests, always. "I am afraid that at some point Israel will also have to be sensitive to Indian concerns," he said. "We are not the 51st state of the United States, and for that matter we are also not an appendage or client state of Israel. We are friends, certainly. But vassals? No, sir."
"You cannot simply whistle and make our big shots go here and there, and ask us to sacrifice our interests," he said.
Bakshi specifically addressed possible pressure on India to distance itself from Iran because of the war.
"You cannot tell us: Throw Iran away because you are at war with it. When it comes to Iran, you cannot ask us to sacrifice our interests."
According to Bakshi, relations with Iran are vital to India economically and geostrategically as well. He pointed to the possibility of purchasing Iranian oil at low prices, refining it at Indian refineries, and subsequently exporting the products to other markets.
Beyond that, he stressed Iran's importance as an overland route for India.
"Iran provides India with the land bridge to Central Asia and the land bridge to Afghanistan, and these are of vital importance to us."
India cannot afford to give up those routes because of the war between Israel and Iran, he said.
"We cannot close these land routes because Israel is at war with Iran."
Bakshi concluded that the friendship between India and Israel remains important, but that from New Delhi's perspective, it has clear limits when major security and economic interests are at stake. Against the backdrop of growing ties between Turkey and Pakistain, and Indian concerns over a broader Sunni alliance, he believes that India's relationship with Iran is becoming more important, not less.
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