The Cradle: Pakistan breaks ranks, backs Iran in war with Israel

There’s a lot in this article, so to summarize, it looks like Pakistan is rapidly aligning with Iran in a kinda informal way. Both the political class and the population generally support an alignment with Iran, which is surprising because earlier this year, Iran and Pakistan had done a little tit-for-tat, striking targets (extremist groups) within each other’s countries. It seems like that exchange, amazingly, left them both fairly satisfied and happy with each other - or perhaps Pakistan’s exchange with India earlier made them realize that they do need allies, and Iran can be counted on.

While Islamabad has offered no formal commitment of military aid to Tehran, Iranian media and parliament are now rallying around Pakistan with chants of “Pakistan Zindabad.”

Now, this part is insane:

Speaking to The Cradle, Abdullah Khan of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) reveals that Israeli drone operators had recently attempted to sabotage Pakistan’s nuclear facilities during the India–Pakistan crisis:

“Israeli drone operators were stationed in Indian operation rooms during the recent Pakistan–India conflict, trying to target Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. However, prompt action from Pakistan thwarted their efforts, preventing them from causing any damage to the nuclear assets of Pakistan.”

Death cult, indeed.

Anyway, I was initially skeptical of claims that Pakistan would nuke Israel if Israel nuked Iran, and I’m still a little skeptical that this would actually happen (as presumably, Pakistan would also get nuked by Israel in return, and then that just creates a whole shitload of issues to put it mildly), but a senior Iranian general basically confirmed that this was true, and I can’t imagine that’s a thing you just throw out there unless there’s some rock-solid support or guarantee. Even Russia hesitated for a bit in giving Belarus access to Russia’s nuclear umbrella (I believe waiting until Finland was de jure in NATO, though my timeline might be a little skewed), and Lukashenko has been unquestionably Putin’s ally this entire time.

Also, I like this response by a Pakistani official to Iran’s version of Guaido:

“If Iranian people are energized and motivated, according to you, show some balls and go back and lead them and remove the regime. Put your money where your arse is, bloody parasitical imperial whore.”

Naturally, this has all put Pakistan under pressure:

“The Pakistani security elite perceive that the US and its counter-proliferation regime are imposing penalties on Pakistan, although it was India that brought the nuclear issue to South Asia. “There exists a structural perception in Rawalpindi that the US, along with its allies India and Israel, is targeting Pakistan’s nuclear program. Nonetheless, it remains uncertain how Pakistan will handle the situation. Certainly, increased investment in air defense systems, enhanced domestic intelligence capabilities, and strengthening the air force with next-generation J-35 stealth fighters are all essential to take on any possible Israeli actions."

Now, as noted previously in this thread, Munir has been summoned to the US - so either Pakistan will back down, or they’ll flip the US the bird.

In a move that exposes Washington’s alarm, Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was quietly summoned to the US Central Command headquarters in Florida. His absence from a key national parade in Islamabad has raised questions at home. While the Pakistani embassy remains tight-lipped, Dawn cited sources anticipating “uncomfortable conversations” in Washington. Whether Munir’s US visit results in a recalibration or further consolidation of Islamabad’s alignment with Tehran and Beijing remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: Pakistan is no longer sitting on the fence.