Yasser Khaan
AS tensions flared between India and Pakistan in May 2025, the world watched anxiously.
Pakistan shocked observers by downing several Indian jets—a tactical feat later studied by global militaries. India, however, stunned for a different reason: it launched strikes deep into Pakistan, targeting civilian centres like Muridke and Bahawalpur. This marked a dangerous escalation unseen since 1971 and signaled India’s shift from restraint to proactive aggression.
India’s actions defied rational calculus. After deploying over 120 combat aircraft, it followed with Israeli-made drones and missiles—even without Pakistani retaliation. According to established security theories, such aggression against a nuclear-armed state was difficult to rationalize. If India’s objective was to redefine the norms of engagement—abandoning the restraint to strike deep within enemy territory— the first wave should have sufficed. Had the aim been to undermine Pakistan’s deterrence, stain its reputation with unsubstantiated terror allegations, or satisfy domestic demands for retaliation after the Pahalgam attack, the first strikes alone would have achieved those ends. By any rational measure, these were the limits of a calculated, hegemonic strategy. But what followed were continuous drone incursions into Pakistani territory, showing India’s intent clearly to provoke a military response.
Meanwhile, the same day when India attacked Pakistan, the only nation to openly endorse the strikes was India’s long-time ally – Israel. Israeli ambassador declared on X “Israel supports India’s right for self-defence. Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent”. The illegitimate Zionist polity stood as India’s only cheerleader in this dangerous confrontation. Israel’s eagerness to endorse India’s unsubstantiated claims and their celebration for the escalation revealed a disturbing alignment, as if Israel had independently verified allegations that New Delhi itself couldn’t prove. But why Israel and India wanted escalation with Pakistan?
The answer emerged thousands of miles away from Delhi and it manifested after 37 days of Indian offensive in the form of operation “Rising Lion” against Iran. It mirrored India’s playbook: drone strikes followed by manned aerial attacks. India’s reliance on Israeli hardware (Harop drones, SkyStriker missiles) now appeared strategic. South Asia, it seemed, had become Israel’s testing ground—a live lab using two nuclear powers to refine tactics for Iran. Israel didn’t go on war with Iran without actually testing the possible scenarios, thanks to Delhi’s myopic and dangerously irresponsible leadership.
While Israel and India have long maintained close strategic ties, Israel had previously refrained from overtly supporting Indian aggression against Pakistan. For the first time, Israel’s diplomatic conduct changed: it explicitly endorsed Indian aggression against Pakistan. This unprecedented shift suggests a calculated attempt to embolden a reckless actor—patting the back of a duped bully—while cynically courting broader global support for its own geopolitical agenda.
History is replete with examples of States using proxy conflicts to trial new weapons and test their limitations. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Germany tested air warfare tactics—most infamously in the 1937 bombing of Guernica—while Italy and the USSR tested armoured vehicles by supplying opposing factions. In the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), both superpowers supplied weapons to both sides at different times and that too for testing purposes to benefit the supplier. The US observed TOW anti-tank missile performance, while the USSR tested T-72 tanks, MiG-23 fighters and SCUD missiles against Western equipment. The U.S. also used the Soviet-Afghan conflict to assess Stinger missile effectiveness. Declassified CIA documents and books like Steve Coll’s Ghost Wars have detailed how Stinger success influenced U.S. confidence in MANPADS technology. Now, Israel appears to replicate this model, with India as a willing partner. Delhi’s pursuit of short-term triumphalism risks reducing it to a pawn in external experiments. Israel could be expected to orchestrate the entire crisis by perpetrating the Pahalgam attack, after all Mossad has proven its capabilities in running drone factories in Iran, then why not in India.
India’s leadership, blinded by short-term triumphalism, risks turning the nation into a pawn in Israel’s tactical experiments. The people of India, known for their intelligence and brilliance, must recognize how their country is being manipulated into destabilizing the region. South Asia cannot afford to be a laboratory for foreign powers. India should step back from the brink, reassess its alliances and prioritize regional stability over becoming a client state in someone else’s war games. The alternative is a dangerous spiral—one that could lead to catastrophe for all.
—The writer is a geopolitical analyst.
