India–Israel Economic Corridor
Encircling Pakistan for Trade Ambitions
The emerging India–Israel economic corridor – exemplified by the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) announced in late 2023 – is not just about commerce. It represents a strategic realignment in South Asia and the Middle East aimed squarely at bypassing and isolating Pakistan. As of April 25, 2025, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated to a near war-like stance, lending credence to Islamabad's view that it is under geopolitical and economic siege. Pakistan perceives this corridor project, backed by India, Israel, the U.S., and key Gulf Arab states, as an attempt to dismantle its sovereignty and strategic relevance under the pretext of trade connectivity. Recent developments – from furious diplomacy and military posturing to contested ports and pressure tactics – underscore how India and its allies are moving to reshape regional trade routes at Pakistan's expense.
A Corridor to Bypass Pakistan
IMEC, unveiled at the G20 summit in New Delhi (September 2023), is a planned multi-modal trade route linking India to Europe via the Middle East. The proposed path connects Indian ports to the UAE by sea, then traverses the Arabian Peninsula (UAE and Saudi Arabia) by rail, crosses into Jordan and Israel, and reaches European markets via the Mediterranean (through Israel's ports and on to Greece). In effect, this creates a seamless transit corridor from Mumbai to Haifa and beyond. Critically, Pakistan is conspicuously absent from this route – a deliberate exclusion. Indian strategists have openly noted that IMEC allows New Delhi to "bypass Islamabad" in its quest for westward connectivity. For decades, Pakistan effectively exercised a veto over land trade between India and the West by refusing overland transit rights; IMEC is designed to break that Pakistani veto. By going over Pakistan's head – literally around its territory – India seeks to eliminate what it calls Pakistan's "roadblock" to trade with the Middle East and Europe.
This strategy is rooted in history. Since the 1947 partition, India's traditional land routes to West and Central Asia were severed, leaving it dependent on Pakistan's willingness to cooperate – which was rarely forthcoming. Pakistan routinely denied India transit access due to political disputes, especially the Kashmir conflict. In response, India explored alternatives like Iran's Chabahar port to reach Afghanistan and Central Asia, but those plans faltered under U.S. sanctions on Iran. Now, through IMEC, India has enlisted supportive partners to establish a new corridor that avoids both Pakistan and Iran entirely. New Delhi's intent is clearly to erode Pakistan's strategic leverage. One analysis notes that "Pakistan (geographically and politically) blocks the development of land routes towards Europe… Bypassing Pakistan's roadblock has therefore become a priority for Indian leaders."
India, Israel and an Alliance of Convenience
Israel's involvement in the corridor signals a deepening India–Israel alliance that Pakistan views with alarm. The IMEC's northern leg relies on Israeli ports (such as Haifa) for transshipment to Europe. In fact, an Indian conglomerate closely aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi purchased a major stake in Haifa Port in 2023, cementing India's economic foothold on the Mediterranean. This move was seen as "boosting Israel's standing as a regional trade hub" while also giving India a strategic toehold in Israel. For Islamabad, such integration of Indian capital into Israeli infrastructure is a troubling sign of a united front forming against Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Beyond trade, India–Israel cooperation spans intelligence and military technology, directly impacting Pakistan's security calculus. During the 2023 Gaza war, India tilted overtly toward Israel – even reportedly supplying Israel with weapon components and munitions amid the conflict. Investigations revealed Israeli missiles used in Gaza bore "Made in India" labels, and Indian firms proudly noted record revenues from arms exports to Israel during the war. Such collaboration was unimaginable in earlier decades when India balanced relations between Israel and the Muslim world; today, New Delhi unabashedly fortifies Israel militarily. Pakistan, a staunch advocate of Palestinian rights that refuses to recognize Israel, finds itself isolated as India and Israel bond over both economic and defense interests. In Islamabad's view, this partnership is aimed at bolstering India against Pakistan – from providing New Delhi advanced surveillance drones and missiles, to sharing intelligence that could be used to Pakistan's detriment. The corridor project thus becomes another facet of the India–Israel axis, aligning their economic goals with a broader strategic containment of Pakistan.
Gulf Arab States Backing the Siege
Crucial to the corridor's viability is the support of Gulf Arab powers – notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – which have thrown their weight behind IMEC. Once traditional allies and benefactors of Pakistan, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are now tilting toward India (and by extension, its partner Israel) in pursuit of their own economic interests. The IMEC plan was signed with the enthusiastic participation of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who see it as an opportunity to become indispensable nodes in global trade. By offering their ports, rail networks, and financing, the Gulf states stand to gain prestige and influence as the "bridge" between Asia and Europe. This dovetails with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE's logistics ambitions. However, it also means sidelining Pakistan.
Notably, Gulf capitals have grown increasingly aligned with India's agenda in recent years. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have developed deep economic ties with India – India is among their top trade partners and a source of large diaspora remittances. Security cooperation has also increased; India has signed agreements with Gulf states on counter-terrorism (often implicitly aimed at Pakistani-linked groups) and maritime security. The once automatic Arab support for Pakistan on issues like Kashmir has noticeably waned. For instance, after India's 2019 crackdown in Kashmir, Saudi and Emirati leaders remained largely neutral, even honoring Mr. Modi with state awards shortly thereafter – a diplomatic snub to Pakistan's appeals. Today, these states are co-investors in a corridor that explicitly cuts through the Middle East while bypassing Pakistan, essentially acquiescing to India's exclusion of its rival.
Behind the scenes, the United States has been a key orchestrator of this realignment. Washington champions IMEC as part of its broader plan to knit together allies against Chinese and Russian influence. The U.S. sees India as a linchpin in a new geopolitical architecture and is eager to cement India's ties with pro-Western Gulf states and Israel. The Biden administration's push to expand the Abraham Accords (normalizing Arab-Israeli relations) intersects with IMEC's goals – by bringing Israel and Saudi Arabia into economic partnership, and by extension pulling Saudi closer to the U.S.-India-Israel camp. In this calculus, Pakistan (and Iran) are the odd ones out: they are seen as too closely aligned with China or too intransigent to fit into the new order. Pakistani analysts suspect that Gulf states' endorsement of the corridor, despite their membership in China-led groups like BRICS and the SCO, reflects quiet U.S. pressure and incentives. To Islamabad, it feels like a betrayal by its brothers – Arab countries that once pledged support are now partnering with India and Israel on an initiative that pointedly circumvents Pakistani territory.
Mounting Military and Diplomatic Pressure
The corridor gambit is unfolding alongside a sharp rise in India–Pakistan hostility. Far from separating economics from politics, India's moves on the trade route are accompanied by coercive pressure on Pakistan to weaken its resolve. Tensions spiked dramatically in April 2025 after a deadly attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir. In a furious reaction, New Delhi unleashed a "raft of measures" downgrading ties with Pakistan. India sealed its main land border at Wagah and unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, imperiling Pakistan's water supply from the Indus River system. It also revoked all visas for Pakistani nationals and expelled Pakistani diplomatic staff, effectively freezing people-to-people contact. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to hunt down those behind the Kashmir attack "to the ends of the earth" and warned that every terrorist and their backer would be pursued – rhetoric widely interpreted in Pakistan as a direct threat to its military and intelligence services.
Islamabad vehemently rejected India's accusations in the Kashmir incident and, in an unusual step, suggested the attack might have been a "false flag operation" orchestrated by India itself. Pakistan's leadership saw India's extreme response as disproportionate and politically motivated – possibly a pretext to ramp up pressure in a broader strategic campaign. Retaliating in kind, Pakistan's government announced the closure of its airspace to Indian aircraft, suspension of bilateral trade, expulsion of Indian nationals, and other measures. It warned that any attempt by India to divert Indus waters would be viewed as an "act of war". The two nuclear-armed neighbors have effectively cut off formal ties, and their forces remain on high alert. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh hinted that India's response would target not only the militants but those "behind the scenes on our land" – a thinly veiled reference to strikes on Pakistani soil. In Pakistan's eyes, New Delhi's aggressive posture – from water aggression to talk of cross-border reprisals – corroborates the notion of an active siege. The timing, coming amid India's push for IMEC, raises suspicion in Islamabad that the heightened military pressure is meant to cow Pakistan into submission or distract it while the corridor plans proceed unabated.
Pakistani protesters in Karachi demonstrate against India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it "water terrorism" – a stark reminder that control of resources is being wielded as a weapon. Many in Pakistan believe India's readiness to tear up the 1960 water-sharing accord is part of a broader strategy to strangle Pakistan's economy and agriculture. The specter of "water warfare" adds to the climate of siege, as Pakistan faces the prospect of drought and disruption from its eastern neighbor's actions. Such steps were once unthinkable; their implementation now signals how far India is willing to go in exerting leverage. Pakistan's resolve, however, remains unshaken – officials warned that any Indian military adventure would be met with full force, highlighting the grave risks inherent in the current standoff.
Strategic Routes and Ports: The Great Game of Infrastructure
Underpinning this confrontation is a Great Game over trade routes and strategic infrastructure. Pakistan's partnership with China on the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a flagship of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – first altered the regional balance, and now IMEC has emerged as a counterweight. CPEC gave Pakistan a powerful patron and a potential economic lifeline: a network of highways, railways, and the deep-sea Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, built with Chinese assistance. This corridor runs from Pakistan's coast through its territory into China's Xinjiang, promising Pakistan investment and transit fees. India was incensed by CPEC because the route passes through Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir – land that India claims as its own. Citing violation of sovereignty, India "consistently opposed" BRI and CPEC on these grounds. New Delhi has lobbied internationally against CPEC and even allegedly funded insurgents to disrupt it. Pakistani security officials suspect a "larger plan to hurt the economic interests of the country" behind repeated attacks on CPEC assets. In March 2024, a string of deadly assaults targeted Gwadar Port, a nearby Pakistani naval base, and Chinese engineers upcountry – all in the span of ten days. Baloch separatists claimed responsibility, but Pakistani analysts noted the pattern of hitting Chinese-linked projects and hinted at foreign sponsorship aimed at sabotaging Pakistan–China cooperation. Each blast at a CPEC project only reinforces Islamabad's narrative that India (with possible tacit support from partners) is waging covert war to undermine Pakistan's infrastructure and scare off its allies.
On the other side, India has been busy cultivating alternative ports and routes. Besides the Haifa port investment in Israel, India spent years developing Iran's Chabahar Port to bypass Pakistan (providing a route to Afghanistan and Central Asia). Yet U.S. sanctions on Iran and Tehran's isolation limited Chabahar's utility. With IMEC, India shifts focus to friendlier terrain: Jebel Ali in the UAE and Dammam in Saudi Arabia will serve as key nodes linking to new rail lines across the Arabian desert, terminating at Haifa. Notably, the IMEC vision includes laying "massive trans-Arabian railway lines" across the Gulf states – a modern incarnation of the trans-regional connectivity that once might have run through Pakistan. The exclusion of Iran from this network is as much a feature as the exclusion of Pakistan; both countries are seen as aligned with China and hostile to Israel/India, so the corridor's architects pointedly designed it through partners they can control. This leaves Pakistan and Iran somewhat isolated geographically. In response, Pakistan has explored tighter links with Iran and Turkey – for instance, envisioning an Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul rail link – but those plans lag behind due to instability and sanctions. Meanwhile, India and Israel press forward with Gulf monarchies to dominate the maritime routes of the northern Indian Ocean and the land routes of the Middle East.
From Pakistan's perspective, strategic encirclement is underway. India's navy, boosted by Israeli-supplied surveillance and weapon systems, patrols the Arabian Sea near Gwadar. India has wooed Oman for access to Duqm port and strengthened defense ties with the Gulf, heightening Pakistan's insecurity along its coast. And to the west, Pakistan sees a new economic bloc forming that intends to cut it out: an India–Arab–Israel nexus blessed by Washington. Islamabad's policymakers warn that if IMEC succeeds, it could relegate Pakistan to a bypassed backwater, strangling hopes for economic revival via transit trade. Little wonder Pakistan fiercely resists – viewing its partnership with China and projects like Gwadar as lifelines to counter this encirclement. As one Pakistani official quipped, "They want to isolate us, but we won't go down without a fight." Pakistan is doubling down on securing CPEC, cracking down on insurgents, and seeking new guarantors (like inviting Saudi Arabia to invest in Gwadar and join CPEC, an offer repeatedly extended). So far, the Gulf states seem more interested in the Indian corridor, but Pakistan hopes China's heft and its own geostrategic location will keep it relevant. In this tug-of-war of corridors, South Asia's future is being drawn on new maps – and Pakistan is determined not to be erased from them.
Pakistan's Defiance and Quest for Balance
Faced with extraordinary pressures, Pakistan has adopted a posture of defiance rather than submission. Its leadership frames the situation as an existential struggle for sovereignty. Any notion that Pakistan might "submit" to the India–Israel corridor – for example, by acquiescing to Indian regional dominance or abandoning claims in Kashmir to join the trade route – has been firmly rejected in Islamabad. Pakistani officials have made it clear that no economic incentive can justify compromising on core interests. They point to the unfairness of a corridor built to exclude a frontline state in the war on terror that has sacrificed so much. Diplomatically, Pakistan is rallying whatever support it can. China remains its rock; Beijing has reiterated support for Pakistan's territorial integrity and invested more in CPEC to show commitment. Turkey and Malaysia (in the Muslim world) have echoed Pakistan's concerns about Kashmir and, implicitly, about new alignments that marginalize Pakistan. Even Iran, which dislikes Pakistan's closeness to Saudi Arabia, shares an interest in undermining a U.S.-backed corridor that leaves Tehran isolated. This has led to quiet discussions between Pakistan and Iran about improving their own connectivity – a subtle counter to IMEC.
On the world stage, Pakistan highlights the double standards at play. At the United Nations and other forums in 2024, Pakistani diplomats lambasted India's human rights record in Kashmir and its hegemonic designs, trying to link those to India's unreliability as a partner. They caution Gulf countries that an emboldened India could turn into a bully – citing New Delhi's abrupt weaponization of water and airspace in its dispute with Pakistan as a sign of how it might treat smaller states. Islamabad also underscores the risks of military escalation. With Indian leaders openly threatening to "take back Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir" by force, Pakistan reminds the world that both nations are nuclear powers and that any all-out conflict could be catastrophic well beyond their borders. Such warnings are intended to compel global powers – the U.S., China, Europe – to restrain India's belligerence and reconsider the wisdom of isolating Pakistan.
In the final analysis, Pakistan sees the India–Israel corridor not as a benign development project but as geopolitical warfare by other means. The corridor's advancement hand-in-hand with diplomatic aggression and military threats reinforces Pakistan's narrative of being besieged. Each rail tie laid from Mumbai to Haifa, each joint naval exercise between India and Gulf states, each new U.S.-brokered deal among India, Israel, and the Arabs is watched in Islamabad with dread and resolve. The country is in a defensive crouch, but not defeated. Surrounded and pressured, Pakistan is leveraging its strategic location – at the crossroads of South, Central, and West Asia – to remind the world that lasting stability and connectivity in Asia cannot be achieved by cutting Pakistan out. Whether through quiet Chinese diplomacy, renewed engagement with Gulf partners, or sheer resilience, Pakistan aims to break the siege. The coming years will determine if the India–Israel economic corridor becomes a foundation for peace through integration, or a fault line that deepens divisions and brings longtime adversaries closer to the brink. In the meantime, Pakistan remains on guard, convinced that its sovereignty is at stake and determined to safeguard it against all odds.
Sources
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