ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday Islamabad would remain “steadfast” on its stated position on Israel, which was that it would not recognize the Jewish state until the Palestinian conflict was justly resolved.
Qureshi was speaking to the media in Multan, where he was questioned about whether there was foreign pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel. The foreign minister has just returned from a two-day visit to the UAE.
Pakistan currently does not recognize the state of Israel over its thwarting of Palestinians’ aspirations for a state of their own. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future free state, a demand Pakistan has supported for decades.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain this year signed agreements to establish formal ties with Israel, becoming the first Arab states in a quarter century to break a longstanding taboo.
“Pakistan in any situation cannot establish relations with Israel until a concrete and permanent solution is found to the problem of Palestine,” Qureshi told reporters, saying that he had “heard and understood why the UAE took the steps it did to recognize Israel but presented Pakistan’s stance on the issue very clearly.”
The UAE foreign minister “completely understood” the feelings of the Pakistani nation toward Palestine, Qureshi said.
When asked about foreign pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel, the foreign minister said: “The prime minister has said this, I have clarified it and the Foreign Office has given a statement on this: there is no pressure by anyone on us.”
“We have to make decisions keeping in mind Pakistan’s interests and not due to any pressure. We have a policy and we are still steadfast on it,” Qureshi added. “Neither will we tolerate any pressure regarding Israel, nor we are under any compulsion.”
