Pakistan will not and cannot ‘establish friendship with Israel until a hard and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue is found’.
Pakistan says it has made it clear to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that Islamabad cannot recognize Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved.
“I expressed Pakistan’s position on Israel to a UAE foreign minister that we cannot and cannot establish a friendship with Israel until a hard and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue is found,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in town center.de Multan Monday.
Qureshi’s statement came days after his visit to the UAE, which many saw as important amid rumors that Islamabad had sent a messenger to Israel in secret.
Islamabad denied the reports, which appeared mainly in the Israeli media.
Responding to questions about reports of alleged pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states to recognize Israel, Qureshi said he explained to his UAE coalition “the depth of feelings and Pakistan ‘s feelings about Palestine and Kashmir ”.
A UAE foreign minister, he said, “fully understood our feelings” on both issues.
Statements complaining about Islamabad’s pressure to recognize Israel, he said, “Number one, we will not be pressured or not.” Number two, we have to make decisions monitoring on the interests of Pakistan and not because of any pressure. We have a policy and we remain committed to it. “
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had “made it clear time and time again that we are not under pressure in this regard”.
Khan made headlines last month when it emerged that Islamabad had been under pressure from some “friendly” countries to recognize Israel.
Although he stopped short of naming the countries despite being asked again whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim countries, many believe that the Pakistani leader was referring to Saudi Arabia. and the UAE.
The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have recently established diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, and reports indicate that some other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, are also weighing options to normalize ties.
In recent years, Pakistan’s relationship with its traditional Gulf allies has been strained as a result of Islamabad’s “neutrality” on a number of issues, including the war in Yemen and the embargo. Qatar which put an Arab alliance under the control of Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh also seems to have been plagued by criticism from Islamabad about its stupid stance on the long-running Indian-Pakistani controversy over Himalayan territory in Kashmir, fully claimed. with all neighbors from South Asia.
Visa Restrictions
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign ministry discussed Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, in a statement on Sunday, Qureshi also raised the issue of visa restrictions on Pakistani nationals in the meeting with his UAE group.
He said Qureshi was convinced the visa restrictions were “temporary” and were imposed as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, the UAE stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 countries that were predominantly Muslim. The decision came into force on 18 November and includes citizens of Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey and Iran.