Graham Usher, Middle East Report, March 2:
One aim [of drawing closer to the US] is to counter Israel’s burgeoning military relationship with India, which includes, says a Pakistani general, the sharing of intelligence on Pakistan’s nuclear program. There is nothing especially new about this fear. What has turned the fear into paranoia is Pakistan’s perception that India has become the US strategic “choice in the region,” to be nurtured as a counterweight to China. In this strategic environment, says [former Pakistani Foreign Secretary Niaz] Niak, the taboo on dealings with Israel appears to the regime to be not only outdated, but also self-defeating. “Rather, the perception is that increasingly open channels to Israel, including the transfer of strategic (nuclear) technology, will help restore the strategic balance in South Asia.”…