Pakistan ‘won’t and can’t set up relationship with Israel till a concrete and everlasting answer to Palestine situation is discovered’.
Pakistan says it has made it clear to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that Islamabad can not recognise Israel till the Israeli-Palestinian battle shouldn’t be resolved.
“I categorically introduced Pakistan’s stance on Israel to the UAE’s overseas minister that we are going to not and can’t set up a relationship with Israel till a concrete and everlasting answer to the Palestine situation is discovered,” Pakistan’s Overseas Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi informed reporters within the central metropolis of Multan on Monday.
Qureshi’s assertion got here days after his go to to the UAE, which was seen by many as essential amid rumours that Islamabad had secretly despatched a messenger to Israel.
Islamabad denied the experiences, which appeared primarily within the Israeli media.
Responding to questions relating to experiences about alleged strain from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and different Gulf states for recognition of Israel, Qureshi mentioned he defined to his UAE counterpart the “depth of feelings and emotions Pakistanis have about Palestine and Kashmir”.
The UAE overseas minister, he contended, “totally understood our emotions” on the 2 points.
Rebuffing experiences about strain on Islamabad to recognise Israel, he mentioned, “Primary, there will probably be no strain on us nor there’s. Quantity two, we now have to make selections maintaining Pakistan’s pursuits in view and never due to any strain. We’ve got a coverage and we’re nonetheless steadfast on it.”
He mentioned Prime Minister Imran Khan had “repeatedly clarified there isn’t a strain on us on this regard”.
Khan made headlines final month when he revealed that Islamabad had been beneath strain from some “pleasant” nations to recognise Israel.
Though he stopped wanting naming the nations regardless of being repeatedly requested whether or not they have been Muslim or non-Muslim nations, many consider the Pakistani chief was referring to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco just lately established diplomatic and financial relations with Israel, whereas experiences recommend another Gulf states, together with Saudi Arabia, are additionally weighing the choices to normalise ties.
In recent times, Pakistan’s relations with its conventional Gulf allies have come beneath pressure as a result of Islamabad’s “neutrality” on a number of points, together with the warfare in Yemen and the blockade on Qatar imposed by a Saudi Arabia-led Arab alliance.
Riyadh additionally seems to be irked by criticism from Islamabad over its lukewarm stance on Pakistan’s longstanding dispute with India over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, claimed in full by each the South Asian neighbours.
Visa restrictions
In the meantime, Pakistan’s overseas ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, in an announcement on Sunday, mentioned Qureshi additionally raised the difficulty of visa restrictions on Pakistani nationals within the assembly along with his UAE counterpart.
He mentioned Qureshi was assured the visa restrictions have been “short-term” and have been imposed because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Final month, the UAE stopped issuing new visas to residents of 13 mostly-Muslim nations. The choice took impact on November 18 and included residents from Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, and Iran.