It is on record that on May 2, 2024, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had dismissed speculations that Pakistan was providing military bases to the US or any other country.
“This speculation is completely unfounded, and we reject it. There is absolutely no basis for these social media speculations,” she told reporters at her weekly briefing, as reported by the Express Tribune. When her attention was drawn towards the reported statement by Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, claiming that they had some information about Pakistan providing bases to the US, the spokesperson said the question should be posed to the lawmaker.
The FO dismissal had come in the wake of the April 1, 2024 bombing by Israel of an Iranian consulate complex in Damascus, Syria, killing multiple senior Iranian officials. In response, Iran and its Axis of Resistance allies seized the Israeli-linked ship MSC Aries and launched strikes on Israel on April 13, 2024. Israel then carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran and Syria on April 19, 2024.
It was after these tit-for-tat attacks by Israel and Iran that two senior US officials visited Pakistan and held meetings with top Pakistani officials. As per media reports, US Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs John Bass and Principal Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Horst held a meeting with Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi on April 30, 2024.
The sudden visit of the US officials came just days after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi travelled to Pakistan, most probably to talk the same bases issue with Pakistan. The presence of the top US officials in Pakistan raised eyebrows against the backdrop of the Iran-Israel tension, and it was after this visit that the Pakistani opposition parties led by the PTI, which is also known for its leader Imran Khan’s “absolutely not”, pointed an accusing finger at the Pak-US officials’ meeting. The accusation was not without justification, if viewed today. Pakistan is now standing at a juncture going to be quite busy in the days to come. A fully-fledged war between Iran and Israel is underway, with both sides firing ballistic missiles, projectiles and drones at each other. Israel jets are also shelling Iranian cities and nuclear installations, causing hundreds of killings. In Israel, at least 13 people were reportedly killed till Sunday – a much lower figure than actual numbers.
In response, Iran shattered the Iron Dome myth and hit Tel Aviv’s ‘Pentagon’ and many other sites, causing substantial damage that the world media is not reporting in toto because of being war allies of Israel. Iran has also claimed downing three Israeli stealth fighters ‑ F-35I Adir, a modified variant of the formidable Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II aircraft. It has become the second country to knock down the ‘invincible’ US stealth fighters after Yemen’s Houthis.
The war is on and is not going to die down in a short period as Israeli officials are predicting with a show-off. Iran is a far bigger country than Israel, but the resources and technology Israel has under its control is far superior to Iran’s, especially the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provided by the US ‑ key to launch precision-guided strikes. Technically and logically, Iran is no match for Israel in view of its resources and strength given by allies like the US, the EU and the majority of countries including Muslim ones. It is on the US and EU back that the Israelis are boasting of their ‘majesty’ with vows to burn Tehran. It is definitely alarming as Israel is the only nuclear power in the world that has signed no IAEA protocol. Where we go from here in the days to come is just a guess, but one thing can be said for sure that this war is going to spread all over the world. At least 55,362 killings and 128,741 injuries in Gaza due to the Israeli brutality are no secret. This high number of casualties is for an estimated 1,139 people killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Not only barbarian killings, the world also saw Israel stopping even the food aid for the poor and wounded Palestinians including little children. This is the height of pettiness.
The situation is evolving every second. The world is heating up as the conflict is going to overflow. On Saturday, the UK ordered its air force to move towards the Mideast. On Sunday, France issued a security alert for all of its Christian and Jewish settlements. Iraq has stopped US nationals from moving in the country. This sort of steps will be taken all over the world, especially in Europe, in the coming days. Why? The answer is Iran has appeared on the Muslim horizon as a hero fighting for the crushed people of Palestine for whom ‘all the true Muslims’ in every nook and corner of the world have a feel. Overwhelmed by sentiments, they all are ready to be in the ‘field’ and do ‘something’ in support of the oppressed. Interestingly, Iran is also getting an invincible support from a large number of West people opposing Israeli barbarianism in Gaza for 18 months.
All this is happening at a time when the US and the EU are issuing platitudes for peace. It is nothing but a double standard that on the one side, the US is talking of peace talks and, on the other, blocked an Iran request for an emergency UNSC session on Sunday. All this is pointing to the fact that the war is going to expand. Again a key role for the sole Islamic nuclear power ‑ Pakistan ‑ is on the cards. In view of the spread of this conflict, Israel would love to play its US card all over the world. And all know that this card is also effective in Pakistan.
Ph: 03085125701/Email: ghushabbir@gmail.com
