ISLAMABAD: The foreign office of Pakistan reiterated on Tuesday there was no change in its stance toward Israel after a British-Pakistani told an Israeli newspaper that the South Asian Muslim country could be the next in line to recognize the Jewish state.
Noor Dahri, a British national of Pakistani origin, told Israel Hayom on Monday that many Arab countries had taken notice of the regional winds of change after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain decided to normalize relations with Israel.
He maintained that Pakistan could be the next to do that, adding that several other Middle Eastern countries may seek rapprochement with Israel sooner than believed.
“Although we do not comment on speculative stories,” the foreign office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri told Arab News, “but let it be said that there is no change in Pakistan’s stance [toward Israel].”
He said that peace and stability in the Middle East remained Islamabad’s key priority, and there was no change in its principled position on Palestine.
“For a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, Pakistan has consistently supported a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation resolutions as well as international law. Pakistan wants pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of Palestine,” said Chaudhri.
Commenting on the recent developments in the Middle East, he added that Pakistan’s approach will be guided by how the rights and aspirations of Palestinians were upheld and how regional peace, security and stability were preserved.