Reports of a Pakistani delegation visiting Israel were “categorically rejected” by the Foreign Office on Thursday, reiterating that there had been no change in the nation’s position on the matter.
The “alleged visit in question was organised by a foreign NGO (non-government organisation) which is not established in Pakistan,” according to FO spokeswoman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed.
The declaration comes a day after numerous international media sites claimed that a “Pakistani team,” which included a former government minister, met with representatives of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
The Abraham Accords, which were mediated by the Trump administration in 2020 and normalised relations between Israel and four Arab nations the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco included representatives from the American Muslims and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and Sharaka, a US-based non-government organisation, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Naseem Ashraf, the delegation’s leader, was also quoted as saying that the delegation was in Jerusalem to “promote inter-faith harmony.”
“He declined to provide any other information regarding the delegation’s other members. Formerly serving as both the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s minister of development, Ashraf,” the article continued.
Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel because it does not recognise it. The nation has consistently backed the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Pakistan had made it plain following the Abraham accords that unless a “fair settlement of the Palestinian question” is found, it cannot recognise Israel.
According to the statement made today by the FO spokesperson, Pakistan’s stance on the Palestinian problem is unmistakable and clear.
“There is no modification in our policy about which there is total national agreement. He added, “Pakistan unwaveringly supports the intrinsic right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
In accordance with the pertinent Organization of Islamic Cooperation and United Nations resolutions, Ahmad continued, it was “imperative for just and lasting peace in the region” to establish an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian State with borders that predate 1967 and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
After a few Pakistani nationals and expats visited Israel as part of a group earlier this year, there was some criticism.By the same NGO, the trip was planned. One of its members, a Pakistani citizen, was given special permission from the PTI government to visit Israel, according to Anila Ali, the group’s organiser, who spoke to Dawn. She added that they had also been assured he wouldn’t suffer any negative consequences for travelling to Israel.
Imran Khan, a former prime minister, and his party were among those who criticised the announcement. The PML-N-led government was prompted by this to make it clear that it had not sponsored or supported the delegation’s travel.
Long discussions over the matter were place in parliament, press conferences, and open forums, during which concerns about the government’s role in the delegation’s trip to Israel were aired. Mushtaq Ahmed, a senator for Jamaat-i-Islami, demanded in the upper house of parliament that the nationality of the expats who visited Israel be revoked and that the NGO that made their trip possible be outlawed.
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