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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged India’s use of “battle-tested” Israeli weapons in a recent conflict with Pakistan and said all of them had “worked well,” Indian media reported this week.

India and Pakistan engaged in a four-day military standoff, sparked by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, leaving nearly 70 people dead on both sides before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10.

The conflict, the worst between the neighbors in over two decades, saw the use of Chinese-made beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles, French-made Rafale jets, Israeli and Turkish drones and sophisticated air and ground warfare technologies.

Speaking to Indian journalists in Jerusalem on Thursday, Netanyahu said the military equipment supplied to India by Israel had performed well during ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan and that defense ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv were on an upswing, The Telegraph newspaper, published in India, reported.

“Israel supplied military equipment to India before [Operation Sindoor]. All of them worked well. Israeli equipment used during Operation Sindoor were battle proven,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

“We don’t develop them in labs, but in battlefield. So they are battle-tested. We have a robust defense cooperation. It is on a pretty solid foundation.”

Netanyahu met Indian journalists after his meeting with India’s ambassador to Israel, J P Singh, the Israeli PM’s office said.

“The Prime Minister and the Ambassador discussed the expansion of bilateral cooperation, especially on security and economic issues,” it said in a statement. “Prime Minister Netanyahu then met with senior Indian journalists and answered their questions.”

The four-day India-Pakistan clash marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at scale against each other.

The Indian military used Barak missiles, jointly developed with Israel, and Tel Aviv’s HARPY drones, in addition an impressive array of domestically manufactured weapons systems, to repel waves of Pakistan missiles over the 96-hour conflict, according to the Times of India newspaper.

“Israel is among India’s largest supplier of weapons and weapons systems,” the read said. “India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel over the last decade, including radars, drones, and missiles. Tel Aviv has ensured a steady supply of weapons to Delhi.”

On May 7, Pakistan and India fought in the air with some 110 aircraft involved, experts estimate, making it the world’s largest air battle in decades.

Pakistan declared a victory in the standoff, saying its air force used Chinese J-10C aircraft to shoot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales, and the army targeted several Indian military installations during the recent flare-up. While Indian officials have acknowledged losses, they have not specified the number of jets downed by Pakistan.

The hour-long fight, which took place in darkness, offered the world a first real glimpse into how advanced Chinese military technology performs against proven Western hardware, with Chinese defense stocks surging in its wake.

Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan’s imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems.

Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise. Beijing is also investing over $60 billion to build infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

India was planning to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on UAVs over the next 12 to 24 months, roughly three times pre-conflict levels, Smit Shah of Drone Federation India, which represents over 550 companies and regularly interacts with the government, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Netanyahu noted that Israel had developed “advanced technologies” and mentioned ongoing cooperation with India during his meeting with Indian journalists, WION, an English-language Indian news channel, reported on Friday.

“Israel was keen to finalize mutual defense and economic agreements with India at the earliest,” he was quoted as saying.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will arrange special flights and coordinate with airlines to provide discounted tickets to Shia pilgrims traveling to Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Friday, following the closure of land route.

Thousands of Pakistanis travel to Iran and Iraq annually to visit religious sites, including observing Arbaeen (Arabic for “forty”), a significant religious occasion in Shia Islam that marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was “martyred” in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.

Islamabad last month suspended road travel to Iran and Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, citing public safety and national security concerns. Pakistanis traveling to the countries via road have often been targeted in sectarian attacks by armed groups in the country’s restive Balochistan province, which shares border with Iran.

The decision led to a protest by Shia religious and political parties, prompting Chaudhry to arrive in the southern port city of Karachi to hold hours-long negotiations with the protest leaders to defuse the crisis by facilitating pilgrims with discounted travel and payment refunds.

“For those whose Iraqi visas have already been issued and who wish to travel overland, the government will coordinate with airlines to provide discounted tickets,” the state minister told reporters.

“Special flights will be arranged to facilitate pilgrims during the travel season, and flight operations to Iraq for these pilgrims will begin in the next two to three days.”

He said the government took painful decision of closing the Rimdan border crossing due to some “security and other concerns,” and it was not being close permanently, requesting pilgrims to take alternate travel routes this year.

“For those who have made advance payments to bus and transport operators, the Government of Pakistan will play its role in ensuring that the tour operators refund those payments,” Chaudhry said, adding the government would set up a committee to resolve pilgrim issues.

Islamabad’s decision to restrict road travel came in the wake of a rise in militant attacks in the province by ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand a greater share of the province’s mineral resources from Islamabad.

Separately, the Pakistani government is introducing a new, centralized system for organizing pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran and Iraq that would require interested parties to register as tour operators, the Pakistani religious affairs minister announced in July.

The statement followed an announcement by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that Pakistani pilgrims would not be able to individually travel for religious pilgrimages from Jan. 1 next year. The decision was made after Iran, Iraq and Syria raised concerns with Islamabad about some of these Pakistani pilgrims overstaying their visas or working illegally in the host countries.

Pakistan previously had no formal structure for people to travel to Iran and Iraq for religious purposes. Although a system was approved in 2021 to organize these pilgrimages, but little progress was made on its implementation.