The great realignment: Why India is Looking to Canada and Israel as Kabul and Islamabad clash

At one point social media posts claimed that Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada had been killed when Pakistan struck Kandahar and other places on Friday. Some of the posts said a senior Pakistani military officer had also been killed.

The authenticity of these posts is dubious, however, as news reports later quoted Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, as rejecting the reports of Akhundzada’s death.

The cause of the tensions is Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that are waging war against Pakistan. A mosque in Islamabad was attacked earlier this month, killing at least 30 people.

The Taliban government disputes the claim that it is harbouring terrorists, saying Afghan territory is not being used to threaten the security of other countries. Kabul, for its part, accuses Pakistan of carrying out unprovoked attacks in which civilians have been killed. Pakistan says it only targets militants.

Does all of this sound familiar? Like when India accuses Pakistan of harbouring terrorists inimical to India?

The last major flareup between Pakistan and Afghanistan was in October 2025, with Qatar and Turkey brokering a ceasefire that lasted until this week. The fighting between the two once brotherly neighbours comes during the holy month of Ramzan.

Recall here that when the US invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and drove the Taliban out of Kabul, many Taliban leaders took shelter in Pakistan. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were seen as co-creators of the Taliban, a rag-tag students’ group that emerged from Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1994. There is also ample evidence of how Pakistan gave the Taliban refuge during the 20-year US and allied military presence in Afghanistan since 2001. How times change.

With tensions rife in South Asia once again and war clouds looming, wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity for US President Trump to step in with his deal-making skills and resolve the conflict?

Pakistan, which was frantically trying to get the US involved during Op Sindoor with India, seems unwilling to dial Washington now. Naturally, it wants to show who’s boss. Whether or not Pakistan recommends Trump for a Nobel, I think India could if he intervenes here. Interestingly, India issued a statement “strongly condemning” Pakistan’s airstrikes during Ramzan.

Pakistan seems to have the upper hand in this conflict, given its better equipped and trained armed forces. But there is the risk of long-term instability besetting the region.

Perhaps it’s time someone handed Trump the ‘Crisis in South Asia’ file. After all, he was said to be upset that Iran hadn’t folded even with all the military hardware assembled against it in the Middle East. If he quells the conflict in South Asia, it could improve his spirits. After all, when making your case for the Nobel Peace Prize, every conflict counts.

Importantly, this visit is expected to reset India-Canada ties, which hit a nadir in 2023 when then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the assassination of an Indian-origin Canadian Sikh, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Trump’s second coming and the election of Mark Carney as prime minister of Canada in 2025 helped – in different ways – to prepare the ground for a reset of India-Canada ties. Trump’s tariffs and his threat to annex Canada and make it the US’s 51st state jolted Canadians out of their comfort zone.

Recall Carney’s famous Davos 2026 speech, in which he said: “The middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu,” referring to the US. Carney has thus had to look for new trade partners to cut its reliance on an unreliable neighbour.

India, another victim of Trump tariffs, is also looking to diversify trade and secure resources such as oil and uranium for power plants to fuel its economy. India is also keen to attract Canadian pension fund investments. Carney’s visit is expected to see the two countries announce a restart of negotiations that could lead to a trade pact.

The main focus of his visit is economics, so it’s appropriate that he began his India visit in Mumbai. He will arrive in Delhi on Sunday, and meet Prime Minister Modi on Monday. Recall here that a meeting with Modi was the last engagement of Trudeau's 2018 visit, after stops in Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, which rankled India.

The situation escalated when an invitation to dine with Trudeau at the Canadian High Commissioner’s residence was mistakenly extended to Jaspal Atwal, a convicted Sikh separatist who had attempted to assassinate an Indian politician in Canada. The official invitation, which was later rescinded, stirred outrage in parts of India, where the issue of Sikh separatism remains a highly charged and emotive topic. This time around, though, geo-political and geo-economic realities should drive the relationship forward.

The second, outgoing visit was Prime Minister Modi travelling to Israel. The visit lasted just 24 hours but packed a lot in terms of gestures and content. Netanyahu was there to receive Modi and stayed by his side through all the public engagements. Ties were elevated to a “special strategic partnership”. More than 15 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed, including a critical technologies partnership. The two prime ministers also agreed to facilitate the employment of 50,000 Indian workers in Israel over the next five years.

Critics have said that Modi did not refer to the Palestinians killed during Israel’s military operations after the 7 October attacks. There are also those who question the timing of the visit, given the overhang of war in the Middle East.

True, the Palestinians killed weren’t mentioned, but the visit was a bilateral one, focussing on India and Israel. India de-hyphenated its ties with Israel and Palestine many years ago.

In his speech to the Knesset, Modi backed the Gaza peace initiative, saying it held the promise of a “just and durable peace” for all people of the region, including by “addressing the Palestine issue”.

“The Gaza Peace Initiative that was endorsed by the UN Security Council offers a pathway. India has expressed its firm support for the initiative. We believe that it holds the promise of a just and durable peace for all the people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine Issue.

“Let all our efforts be guided by wisdom, courage, and humanity. The road to peace is not always easy. But India joins you and the world for dialogue, peace and stability in this region.”

The allusion to the UN-endorsed Gaza peace plan is critical, as is the reference to “just and durable peace” for “all the people in the region including by addressing the Palestine issue”. The words “let all efforts be guided by wisdom and humanity” are also key, as “humanity” here refers to the conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.

These were the public comments. We don’t know what transpired during the private talks. Do remember here that Israel is indispensable for India’s security, as seen during Balakot and Operation Sindoor. With the US proving unpredictable, keeping Israel on India’s side is vital.