By Ghulam Haider
The debate surrounding the recognition of Israel by Pakistan has once again mainstreamed in the wake of the recent visit by yet another delegation’s visit to the Jewish state headed by a Pakistani-American, who has been a former minister of state for human development. This visit has gained such an attention that from newspaper columns to blogs to youtube videos to twitter threads in English and local Urdu language – all are dedicated to the discussion.
Quite recently, a special delegation of Pakistani-Americans including Pakistan’s former minister of state for human development and ex-chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Dr. Nasim Ashraf visited Israel last week.
The delegation also included some high profile representatives from the American Muslims and Multi-Faith Women’s Empowerment Council, journalists, and Sharaka, a US-based non-government group founded after the signing of the Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration in 2020 which normalised relations between Israel and four Arab countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
“We have received an overwhelming response to the visit. However, the diplomatic relations between Israel and Pakistan are directly linked to the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Pakistan officially stands by its commitment that the Palestinians get their rights and the statehood or whatever is decided. At the same time, Pakistan has consistently supported Palestinians and its position on the issue is crystal clear,” said Dr. Nasim Ashraf.
The delegation comprised nine members including four who live in Pakistan and other prominent Americans of Pakistani origin as well as a British-Pakistani Imam. Images circulating on social media platforms show Pakistani journalists Imtiaz Mir, Anchor Metro 1 News TV, Faiz Brohi, CEO of Awaz TV and Arif Naqvi of Geo/Jang Group were also the part of the delegation.
This visit comes on the heels of a visit by a similar delegation comprising Pakistani-Americans who reportedly travelled to Jerusalem to ‘promote inter-faith harmony.’ This trip also stirred fury in Pakistan and the locals were especially angered that a talk show host from state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), was on the trip. He was subsequently fired.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office at that time had categorically rejected reports of a Pakistani delegation’s visit to Israel, clarifying that the visit had been arranged by a foreign NGO, which is not based in Pakistan. The FO has issued a similar rebuttal this time around as well.
“The good news is that we have had the first robust and rich nationwide debate in Pakistan on establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. This is huge,” Ahmed Quraishi, the TV journalist who was the part of the first delegation in May this year, said about the Israel trip and subsequent controversy.
Since its inception, Pakistan has not forged any official or diplomatic ties with Israel and believes that it cannot see any change in her stance until the Palestinians get their independent state, while a similar case has been for many Muslim-majority countries across the globe. So far, Pakistan’s position on the Palestine issue remains unchanged despite the visit of the successive delegations as a back-channel diplomacy.
Rumours have it that Pakistan might succumb to the joint pressure by the United States and Saudi Arabia, the godfathers behind the ties normalization with Israel, to recognize the Jewish state. With Israeli businesspeople frequenting Saudi Arabia, the kingdom wants to formalize the ties swiftly to fortify defense alliances in the region.
Being nuclear powers, both Pakistan and Israel have long held quiet dialogues on military and security matters and their respective foreign ministers met publicly last time in 2005. A decade ago, Israel-Pakistan ties might not have been a drawing room topic of discussion, but, today, it is one of the top-level foreign policy deliberations in Pakistan’s corridors of power. However, in the wake of new geopolitical realities, one must keep in mind that the unthinkable until recently is now becoming increasingly inevitable.
However, the question of whether or not to recognise Israel has resurrected again in public discourse in Pakistan with no rational answer thanks to emotional attachment to the cause of Palestine developed over the years. The UAE’s strategic decision to normalise relations with Israel was the first major departure from what seemed to be a united stand of the Arab world since the 1967 war. What this may have prompted is partly driven by a different vision for the Middle East.
But why does the question of Israel’s recognition keep popping up every now and then in Pakistan? Of course, Israel has a penchant for working from behind closed doors and its foreign policy seems to be woven around the “fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee” ethos.
Much before these two delegation’s visits, journalist and tv anchor Mubashar Luqman invited flurry of heated response when he appeared on i24News – an Israeli international 24-hour news and current affairs television channel located in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv – in an interview in 2020.
“I am one of those people who say we should shake hands and we should have diplomatic ties. Israel is not a dream but reality. It’s an important and a very vibrant country,” Mubashar Luqman said. In a veiled reference to Palestine, he went on to say that “we should not fight the others’ wars.”
This interview came amid reports circulating on international media at that time, suggesting that there was “pressure on Pakistani state to recognise Israel.” However, Imran Khan, the then prime minister of Pakistan, confirmed that there was pressure on Pakistan to sign such an agreement.
Pakistan is one of the countries on the radar of Israel, looking for more clout in the world. With the seven-decade old Turkey-Israel ties recently growing warmer after years of frigidity, encouraged by Saudi Arabia. But Iran is another soaring point for the Saudis and the Americans to make them follow the suit by leveraging their influence.
Historically, Pakistan has lent unflinching support to the Palestinian people – including having sent its pilots during the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars. At one point, in the mid-80s, Israel is even reported to have planned to strike the nuclear facilities in Pakistan. That kind of cold-blooded animosity has softened over time. But Israel still regards Pakistan as a significant force in the region.
However, the latest developments and formulation of alliances in the Middle East leave Pakistan in a moral dilemma. Its founding father had decreed that Israel could not be recognised without Palestinians given their political rights.
The question of Pakistan’s recognition of Israel has to be looked at from many angles – moral, legal, political and realpolitik. Given Israel’s history of oppression of Palestinians, illegal settlements, denial of the right of refugees and abuse of the status of Jerusalem, recognition would be an affront to the moral sensibilities of many in Pakistan.
If Pakistan improves its ties with the Gulf countries, it will arguably check any Israeli designs against Pakistan in view of its emerging relations with the Arab countries. That would be the next best thing to recognition. In the realpolitik balance sheet, benefits for Pakistan, if any, mainly bilaterally, would be marginal, failing to override strong moral, political and Kashmir-related reservations. There is, therefore, no real value in Pakistan recognising Israel.
In the long-term, if Pakistan becomes more isolated in its position on Israel, it could also alter its historically warm ties with Gulf states moving towards recognition. As important economic partners and home for many in Pakistan’s diaspora and migrant worker population, these countries have more leverage to push Pakistan towards recognition.
Irrespective of Pakistan’s official position and public sentiments on Israel, it would become more and more difficult for Pakistan to resist pressure from different quarters following the flight of Arab countries towards Israel one after the other. Let us hope our economic woes do not make us blind to our moral obligations!
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