ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday rejected US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and said the move was “unfortunate.”
In a dramatic shift from decades of US policy, Trump on Monday signed a proclamation officially granting US recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory.
Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move the UN Security Council has declared as unlawful.
“This is the most unfortunate development, we reject it,” Pakistani information minister Fawad Chaudhry told Arab News. “Israel has illegally occupied Golan and there is no moral or legal justification for their claim to it, or for what the US has done.”
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have already criticized Trump’s move.
“It will have significant negative effects on the peace process in the Middle East and the security and stability of the region,” said a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has refused to talk to the United States since Trump ordered the US embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, expressed his “absolute rejection.”
European members of the United Nations Security Council — France, Britain, Germany, Belgium and Poland — have also said they did not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the lands it has occupied since June 1967, including the Golan Heights.
“This is part of the expansion doctrine of Israel and it is unfortunate that the United States is backing it,” Chaudhry said. “This is the kind of injustice that breeds extremism, and leads to greater tussle between civilizations and people.”
Responding to reports that Trump’s call for recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights was a boost for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before he went into an election, Chaudhry said that as a “global superpower” it was important that the United States “not take decisions based on petty political games.”
For many Arabs, Trump’s move has dashed hopes of a negotiated peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians and raised doubts that Washington is a neutral arbiter. Many also fear the decision could tempt other powers to annex land, undermine a US Middle East peace plan and push Israel back into conflict with its Arab neighbors.
“The responsibility on the US as a superpower is global,” Chaudhry said. “They are reducing the chances of a safe, secure and bright future for the world and especially the Arab world by taking such decisions.”
Pakistan rejects US recognition of Golan Heights as Israeli territory
Pakistan rejects US recognition of Golan Heights as Israeli territory
- Calls President Trump’s decision “the most unfortunate development”
- European nations, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Gulf countries have already criticized Trump’s move
Afghan Taliban envoy posted to Indian capital
- India has not officially recognized Taliban government but latest move signals deepening engagement between both
- Development takes place as New Delhi seeks to exploit surging tensions between Kabul, Islamabad to its advantage
NEW DELHI, India: Afghanistan’s Taliban government has appointed their first senior official in India since the group returned to power in 2021, charged with leading their embassy in Delhi.
India has not officially recognized the Taliban government, but the move signals a deepening engagement, with New Delhi seeking to exploit divisions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Noor Ahmad Noor, a Taliban foreign ministry official, assumed responsibility as charge d’affaires, and has already held meetings with Indian officials, the embassy said in a statement.
“Both sides emphasized the importance of strengthening Afghanistan-India relations,” the Afghan Embassy said, in a post on X late Monday.
India has not commented, but the Afghan embassy posted a photograph of Noor with senior Indian foreign ministry official Anand Prakash.
The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law may appear an unlikely match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, but India has sought to seize the opening.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan fought a brief but deadly clash in May 2025, their worst confrontation in decades.
The appointment is significant for the Taliban, which has sought to reclaim control over Afghanistan’s overseas diplomatic missions as part of a broader push for international legitimacy.
In October, India said it would upgrade its technical mission in Afghanistan to a full embassy.
Russia is the only country to officially recognize the Afghan Taliban government.
