THE arms race New Delhi is pursuing is a bad omen for South Asia. On Monday, it received its first Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) Phalcon from Israel. The aircraft, which is also called 'eye in the sky', would provide the Indian Air Force the ability to look deep into neighbouring countries, and the flights of aircraft and missiles from as far as Afghanistan could be monitored by this surveillance system. The aircraft has been bought at a whooping price of $1.1 billion and so far only a few countries in the world have it. By spending so much, New Delhi on the one hand has ignored millions of poverty stricken Indians, and on the other, it intends fuelling a new arms race in the Subcontinent. Pakistan under these circumstances cannot remain indifferent and would therefore be forced to take necessary steps. Another alarming factor for Pakistan is the Israeli-Indian nexus that has developed in recent years. Israel has always sided with New Delhi in its attempts to dominate Islamabad. Its strategy to arm India with aircraft that are counted among the most sophisticated in the world poses a serious threat to Pakistan.