ABU DHABI Ñ Gulf Cooperation Council states are concerned over
the prospect of a war between India and Pakistan.
Gulf defense sources said the six GCC countries fear that the war will
spread from South Asia to the Persian Gulf. Another concern is that an
Indian-Pakistani war will spark clashes between the two huge expatriate
communities in the Gulf.
Several GCC countries have raised the prospect of a war in South Asia
with their Western allies, particularly the United States, the sources said.
They said GCC countries raised the prospect of a disruption of shipping
in the Persian Gulf as well as a rise in Islamic insurgency activity meant
to support Pakistan.
Visiting British Chief of Staff Admiral Michael Boyce agreed. During a
visit to Doha, he said any war between India and Pakistan would harm
business in the
Gulf. Boyce told a briefing on Tuesday that such a war could include the use
of nuclear weapons.
"Diplomacy at the highest level is at work and it is everybody's concern
to end the stand-off," Boyce said.
Gulf sources said GCC states are also concerned that they could be
harmed
by a missile or nuclear war. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons
and intermediate-range missiles.
The concern came as GCC states obtained a high mark for stability. The
mark came from the U.S. firm. Business Resource Service, which deemed Gulf
Arab countries, as being stable politically and internally.
Daniel Neep, head of Middle East and North Africa Program at the Royal
United Services Institute for Defence Studies, told the London-based A-Sharq
Al Awsat that he did not expect any nuclear war between India and Pakistan
to affect the Persian Gulf. "This basically depends on the level of nuclear
weapons used," Neep said. "It is
difficult for nuclear fall-out to reach the Middle East."
