Israel Relations
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani clarified that Pakistan’s decision on establishing relations with Israel would depend on both Pakistan’s national interests and those of the Palestinian people.
His response came after Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s remarks regarding the normalization of Israel’s relations with the Muslim world. Cohen had suggested that “six or seven” Islamic nations were likely to normalize ties with Israel, potentially including Saudi Arabia in the Abraham Accords, which already involved the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Jalil stated that Cohen had not met with any Pakistani official recently. He recalled a 2005 meeting between Pakistan’s then-foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul, initiated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. However, no reports of similar meetings at the ministerial level have surfaced since that time.
A senior Pakistani diplomat expressed hope that Pakistan would not need to make a decision on this matter in the near future.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his recent address at the United Nations General Assembly, claimed that peace with Saudi Arabia would mean peace between the Muslim world and Jews. He also asserted that Israel was close to normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, sparking debates about which Muslim countries might establish relations with Israel.
Cohen’s claim about six or seven Muslim countries recognizing Israel did not specify names due to the situation in Libya, according to international affairs experts.
Cohen’s recent diplomatic issue with Libya stemmed from his meeting with former Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush in Rome, leading to her dismissal and protests in North Africa.
The incident was criticized by US officials for disrupting communication with Libya.
