Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Thursday asserted that Pakistan’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict “is and will remain” the same as it was in the past.
“There is no change in our policy regarding Israel … our policy is linked to the rights of Palestinian people,” he said.
Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, and believes in a “two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions as well as interna tional law, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as the capital of Palestine”.
The foreign minister’s statement comes as Israel has increased efforts to stabilise ties with Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told journalists that during the United Nations General Assembly, he met leaders from several Muslim countries who had not recognised Israel yet. He also suggested that “six or seven” Muslim nations were likely to normalise ties with Israel, following Saudi Arabia’s potential inclusion in the Abraham Accords. The agreement represents Arab nations willing to normalise ties with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
During a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, the foreign minister was questioned on Pakistan’s ties with Israel. In response, he said: “Whenever we decide on the matter, we will keep our national interests on priority.”
