India Bought Pegasus As Part Of Defence Deal With Israel In 2017: NYT Reports

Mumbai: An investigative report published by The New York Times states that the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi bought the spyware tool Pegasus in 2017 as part of a major arms deal with Israel.

The spyware was developed by NSO Group and is capable of remote monitoring smartphones.

The NYT report alleged that India’s purchase of spyware was part of a “package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence equipment worth approximately $2 billion” between the Indian and Israeli governments.

The report detailed how, from July 2017, Prime Minister Modi began to strengthen ties with the Israeli government.

The report also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017 – to become the first Indian prime minister to visit the country.

“For decades, India had maintained a policy of what it called “commitment to the Palestinian cause,” and relations with Israel were frosty. The Modi visit, however, was notably cordial, complete with a carefully staged moment of him and (then Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu walking together barefoot on a local beach,” it said.

“They had a cause for heated feelings. Their countries had agreed to the sale of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear – Pegasus – and a missile systems hub – worth about $2 billion.

Months later, Netanyahu made a rare state visit to India. And in June 2019, India voted in support of Israel in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations to deny observer status to the Palestinian Human Rights Organization. It was a first for the country,” the report said.

Last year, a row erupted over Israeli spyware Pegasus allegedly being used for targeted surveillance in India.

The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it “has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever”.

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