Retired Indian general warns pact between Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia threatens India, calls for closer ties with Iran.By World Israel News StaffA retired Indian major general has warned that the new defense alliance linking Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could pose a significant strategic challenge to India, while arguing that New Delhi should preserve its relationship with Iran despite India’s ties with Israel.Retired Maj.-Gen. Gagan Deep Bakshi made the comments in an interview with India’s Republic World, focusing on the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed earlier this month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.Bakshi characterized the emerging bloc as a “Sunni NATO” and called its creation a “serious cause for concern” for India.The agreement, signed in Mecca on August 7, commits the three countries to regard an armed attack against any one of them as an attack against all three.The pact also calls for expanded military cooperation among the members, although the initial agreement did not publicly spell out precisely what military response each country would be obligated to provide during a conflict.The three governments have presented the agreement as defensive rather than directed at any particular adversary. Erdogan said when the agreement was signed that it was intended to expand security cooperation, defense-industrial projects and counterterrorism efforts, while stressing that it was “not directed against any country.”Turkey’s Defense Ministry subsequently said Ankara, Riyadh and Islamabad would establish political and military coordination mechanisms involving their defense ministers, foreign ministers and military chiefs.Joint exercises are also being planned, along with possible cooperation on weapons production and technology sharing.While much of the attention surrounding the pact has focused on the continuing war with Iran and the security of the Gulf states, Bakshi argued that India has reasons of its own to be wary, primarily because Pakistan is a member.Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars and remain bitter rivals, particularly over Kashmir.Turkey has also developed increasingly close military relations with Islamabad and has repeatedly backed Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, contributing to a deterioration in relations between Ankara and New Delhi.Bakshi pointed to Turkey’s assistance to Pakistan during the India-Pakistan confrontation surrounding Operation Sindoor as evidence that the relationship is already more than diplomatic.He alleged that Ankara supplied large numbers of drones to Pakistan and said Turkey and Pakistan had effectively been cooperating militarily even before the Mecca pact formally expanded the alignment.He also dismissed the possibility that Turkey could easily intervene on Pakistan’s behalf in a future war with India, noting that Turkish naval forces would have to travel a considerable distance to reach the region.Bakshi warned that India possessed the naval power to confront such a deployment.The retired officer’s views do not represent an official statement from the Indian government.New Delhi has so far responded considerably more cautiously to the new agreement.Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said after the pact was signed that the government was “closely following” the development.India also publicly dismissed reports that it was seeking a corresponding military alliance with Israel in response to the Turkey-Saudi-Pakistan agreement.Bakshi nevertheless argued that the agreement underscores why India should be careful not to sacrifice its independent relationships in the Middle East — particularly with Iran — merely because of its increasingly close strategic relationship with Israel.India and Israel have built extensive defense, intelligence and economic ties over the past three decades, and Israeli weapons systems have become an important component of the Indian military.But Bakshi insisted the partnership should not mean automatic alignment with Israeli regional policy.“We are friends, certainly. But vassals? No, sir,” he said.That distinction is particularly important when it comes to Iran, he argued.Despite the long-running hostility between Israel and the Islamic Republic, India has maintained important economic and strategic interests in Iran. Bakshi said New Delhi should reject any suggestion that it must “Throw Iran away because you are at war with it.”India sees Iran partly as a geographic counterweight to Pakistan. Because Pakistan blocks direct Indian overland access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, Iran provides New Delhi with an alternative route into those regions.The centerpiece of that strategy is Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman. India signed a 10-year agreement in 2024 to operate part of the port, which New Delhi has sought to develop into a trade corridor linking India with Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistani territory.India’s Foreign Ministry has described Chabahar as a key regional connectivity project, and the port has become increasingly important as Afghanistan has shifted some trade away from Pakistani routes and toward Iran.The post Indian ex-general blasts Mecca Pact, calls for alliance with Iran appeared first on World Israel News.