Turkey backs Pakistan, Israel supports India and Gulf states look to mediate
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, on Friday.
On Thursday, he was across the border in the Indian capital, New Delhi, where he met the country's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Now, Jubeir is set to speak with Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and its army chief, General Asim Munir.
The Saudi foreign minister's ambitious task is to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India.
This will be an enormous challenge. The two nuclear-armed neighbours are on the brink of war, with neither side willing to appear as the first to back down. Yet, earlier this week, sources on both sides told Middle East Eye that neither wanted to see the situation escalate further.
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India launched a deadly attack on Pakistani territory on Wednesday morning, which Pakistan said killed at least 36 people, including civilians.
India said Pakistani shelling killed at least 16 people, civilians among them, in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Cross-border clashes have continued since then and Pakistan has vowed to respond to the Indian attack.
Hostilities ramped up last night as several Indian cities faced blackouts and the Indian government accused Pakistan of unsuccessfully launching attacks on Indian civilian infrastructure in 15 different locations.
Pakistan strongly denied any involvement in these attacks. But the Pakistani military said it had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers in cross-border fighting.
US takes the backseat
Tensions began with a brutal attack by suspected rebels on Indian tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on 22 April. India blames the attack on Pakistan, while Islamabad denies any involvement.
Indian air strikes in Pakistan: Tactical success or symbolic gesture? Read More »
As tensions escalate, countries from the Middle East are among those playing a diplomatic role.
Previously, the United States has taken centre stage in efforts at de-escalation, including when conflict erupted in 2016 and 2019.
But US President Donald Trump has signalled that his administration favours a more hands-off approach, dismissively saying on Wednesday that "I just hope it ends very quickly" and that the two countries have been fighting for "centuries" (they were both founded in 1947).
His vice president, JD Vance, was explicit on Thursday when he insisted that the conflict was "fundamentally none of our business".
The US is an Indian ally, while Pakistan's main backer is China, and Chinese-made fighter jets shot down at least two Indian warplanes on Wednesday.
Israel and Turkey
Most countries, including those in the Middle East, have taken a firmly neutral stance and called for the cooling of hostilities.
There are two notable exceptions: Israel and Turkey.
Israel strongly backed India after the initial attack in April, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that "Israel stands with India in its fight against terrorism".
The Israeli ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, declared that "Israel supports India's right to self-defence" after the Indian attack on Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan shoots down Israeli-made drones launched by India Read More »
India and Israel have extensive military ties.
The Pakistani military said it shot down 25 Harop drones that Israel launched into Pakistan on Thursday. An Indian government source confirmed to MEE that at least one Israeli drone was downed by Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Turkey explicitly backed Pakistan on Wednesday and condemned India for taking "provocative steps" against the country and its civilians.
Turkey's foreign ministry even accused India of "targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure".
On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed Pakistan's call for a "neutral" investigation into the April attack on Indian tourists - a call that India has rejected.
Like India and Israel, Pakistan and Turkey have strong military ties. A Turkish Air Force C-130 landed in Pakistan earlier this week, which Ankara said was just for refuelling.
A Turkish naval warship also arrived at Karachi's port late last week, which Ankara said was a goodwill gesture.
On Friday, the Indian military claimed that 300 to 400 Turkish drones were used to attack Indian cities on Thursday - claims Pakistan denied. Initial forensic analysis of the downed drones showed they were Turkish-made Asisguard Songar drones, an Indian military spokesperson said.
Pakistan's drone fleet is known to include models from Turkey, as well as China and domestic manufacturers.
Pakistan has warned it will attack India at a time of its choosing and it is likely that Turkish-made drones might be used.
Saudi Arabia as mediator
Other countries in the region, meanwhile, have fastidiously avoided appearing to take sides.
The US' reluctance to take a leading mediating role between India and Pakistan has meant that Saudi Arabia has stepped into the spotlight.
It is in this context that Jubeir, the kingdom's foreign minister, has gone to India and then Pakistan.
A senior Pakistani government source told CNN on Friday that "Pakistan is giving space to diplomacy" by delaying an attack on India.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also urged restraint on both sides.
British MP shares posts celebrating Indian strikes that killed civilians in Pakistan Read More »
India's foreign affairs spokesperson said on Wednesday that Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had "expressed full support in India's fight against terrorism and all its actions to bring the perpetrators to justice".
However, in an official statement, Qatar's foreign ministry called for "resolving the crisis through diplomatic channels" and stressed the "urgent need to keep communication channels open between India and Pakistan".
The Gulf monarchies have strong economic ties with India and are home to large South Asian migrant communities.
As such, they have a vested interest in seeing tensions de-escalate in South Asia.
Other regional powers share this interest - including Iran, which borders Pakistan but has warmer relations with India.
Earlier this week, Iran's foreign minister visited both Islamabad and New Delhi to offer Iranian help in de-escalation efforts.
OIC backs Pakistan's call for plebiscite
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), made up of Muslim-majority nations, has urged de-escalation but backed Pakistan's position on Kashmir.
After India's attack on Pakistan on Wednesday, the OIC issued a statement expressing "deep concern over the deteriorating security environment in South Asia" and calling India's allegations against Pakistan "unfounded".
Significantly, the OIC said that the unresolved dispute over Kashmir was at the core of the issue.
Conflict over the divided former princely state has caused three wars between India and Pakistan. Both countries accuse the other of occupying the region.
India currently claims the region as "integral" to its sovereignty, while Pakistan calls for a plebiscite - including in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir - to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination.
The OIC supported the Pakistani position by declaring that Kashmiris "continue to be denied their inalienable right to self-determination".
India furiously hit back, with a government spokesperson saying it was "yet another attempt by Pakistan, a country that has long engaged in cross-border terrorism, to manipulate and misguide OIC to issue a self-serving statement".
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