Muslim Zion: Pakistan’s perspective on Israel’s war

Pakistan, established less than a decade after the proposal for a Muslim homeland in India, represents both the realization of national aspirations and, for many, the embodiment of a failed state. Faisal Devji’s 2013 book, Muslim Zion delves into the geopolitical contradictions surrounding Pakistan, contending that it has never functioned as a conventional nation-state. Instead, Pakistan is portrayed as a unique political entity, lacking the deep historical ties between land and people that typically define nations. Its context is more akin to the settler states of the New World, but ideologically, it bears its closest resemblance to Israel. According to Devji, “Pakistan and Israel both emerged from situations in which minority populations dispersed across vast subcontinents sought to escape the majorities whose persecution they rightly or wrongly feared.”

The book obviously has found no resonance in Pakistan where even over a decade after its initial publication, it gathers reviews and immense criticism.

It is striking that Pakistan and Israel, two nations founded around the same time—Pakistan in 1947 and Israel in 1948—both in the name of religion, have never established formal diplomatic relations. Every Pakistani passport bears the inscription that it is valid for travel to all countries except Israel. Pakistan’s hostility toward Israel primarily stems from its solidarity with the Palestinians displaced by the creation of Israel. However, it also serves to bolster Pakistan’s standing among Muslim nations and counterbalance India’s increasingly close ties with Israel.

Given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, intensified by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the latter’s severe military response in Gaza, it is crucial to examine how such as Pakistan is reacting to the crisis, especially given its unique position among Muslim majority nations.

Historically, shortly after its own creation, Pakistan opposed the establishment of Israel and voted against the UN’s partition plan for Palestine. Motivated by pan-Islamic ideals and realpolitik, Pakistan sided with Arab nations in their conflicts with Israel. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Pakistan was one of the few countries to recognize Jordan’s annexation of the West Bank. Pakistani military support was evident during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War when a Pakistani pilot shot down an Israeli aircraft using a Syrian fighter jet.

However, Pakistan’s support for the Palestinian cause hasn’t been entirely unwavering. In 1970, Pakistan’s Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq (future military dictator and President of Pakistan) led a military assault on Palestinian refugees in Jordan during Black September, supporting Jordan’s King Hussein. Despite such contradictions, several prominent Pakistani leaders, including Gen. Pervez Musharraf, explored the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, with Musharraf even attending a high-profile event with American Jewish leaders in 2005. Despite Israel’s interest in fostering ties, Pakistan officially maintains that a two-state solution, with pre-1967 borders and Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, is necessary.

Conversely, Pakistan’s religious-political groups have consistently opposed any engagement with Israel. Successive Pakistani governments have used the “Israel card” to fuel anti-India sentiments, equating the Palestinian struggle against Israel with the Kashmiri struggle against Indian control. Many activists in Europe and the US now united the “Kashmir” and “Palestine” causes. This narrative, conflating Israeli and Jewish identities, has led to anti-Israel rhetoric in Pakistani political discourse. Extremist groups in Pakistan have even justified violence against health workers, claiming vaccination drives are part of a Jewish and Christian conspiracy to harm Muslim children.

The ongoing war in Gaza has heightened anti-Israel sentiments in Pakistan. Initially, Pakistan’s foreign office responded cautiously to the escalating violence, but as civilian casualties in Gaza grew, Pakistani leaders began condemning Israel more forcefully, calling the Israeli offensive a “genocide.” Pakistan’s media has also highlighted the humanitarian crisis, and earlier this year, Pakistan spearheaded a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for an end to military aid to Israel.

Despite the pervasive anti-Israel sentiment, Pakistan has not provided material support to countries directly involved in the conflict. Instead, anti-Israel rhetoric has been used to criticize India, which has grown closer to Israel under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some Pakistani commentators have even speculated that India’s intelligence agencies were involved in recent escalations in the region and Pakistani proxies in the US and Europe try and underline India’s role in providing arms and weapons to Israel.

The Pakistani government, facing domestic political and economic crises, has leveraged anti-Israel sentiment to distract from internal issues, labeling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist and war criminal. While Pakistan has sent humanitarian aid to Palestinians and considered boycotts of companies supportive of Israel, it is unlikely to take more aggressive steps, mindful of the potential economic repercussions from international financial institutions.

Pakistan, however, is a modern day example of the failure of the two (and then three) state solution implemented by the British at Indian independence. It was created on the demand of Muslims who did not feel secure in a Hindu majority country. Not only did the two state solution spilt into three states (East Pakistan gained independence as Bangladesh in 1971), today’s Pakistan vacillates between democracy and dictatorship. It has been at the brink of bankruptcy several times, and battles with terrorism while sheltering terrorist groups itself. Minority Hindus, Sikhs and Christians have reduced alarmingly in the 76 years of independence and its own secular population is not safe under its blasphemy laws.

Pakistan may once again reassess its position on Israel, balancing moral stances with national interests though fundamentally Pakistan has more in common with Israel than with Palestine.