Roving Periscope: To woo the US, Pakistan is romancing with Israel!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Even after facing strong opposition from terrorist groups within the country for its new-found ‘proximity’ with sworn enemy—Israel—Pakistan’s military-controlled puppet civilian government is subtly forging a ‘working relationship’ with the Jewish state, without even recognizing it.
In October, Pakistan came ‘closer’ to Israel during the Gaza Peace Plan. America is likely to include the South Asian country’s army as part of the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan.
The Pakistan Army’s own terror outfits, like Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), are, however, vehemently protesting against this backdoor attempt to support the Jewish state against interests of Palestine.
Islamabad faced acute embarrassment on Friday when a video of a senior official, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan’s interaction with a top Israeli tourism official in London went viral on social media.
Pakistan’s Foreign office promptly said it is ‘unfair’ to link the incident to speculation about Islamabad joining the Abraham Accords, describing them as “too far-fetched” and urging the media to avoid unnecessary conjecture, the media reported on Saturday.
It said on Friday a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s special assistant on tourism, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, and an Israeli official at a global travel fair in London was “not authorized” by the government, with Khan claiming later he did not know he was speaking to an Israeli delegation.
Khan was seen in a viral video shaking hands and speaking with Michael Izhakov, Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, at the Pakistan Pavilion during a World Tourism Market (WTM) event held from November 4 to 6.
“I can assure you that if at all such a meeting or such an interaction took place, it was without authorization, certainly without information to us and certainly without authorization by the government,” Tahir Andrabi, the Foreign Office spokesperson, told the media in his weekly news briefing. “I have not seen any such authorization and I have not seen any information as yet.”
Speculation over whether Pakistan could eventually join the Abraham Accords (2020) has circulated on social media in recent weeks, particularly after high-level contacts between Pakistani leaders and President Trump. Last month, Kazakhstan also joined the Trump-sponsored group whose members are Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.
In October, Trump said he expected the Accords to expand, expressing hope that more states would normalize relations with Israel. Pakistan is now being speculated to follow Kazakhstan as the next member of the Accords.
Pakistani officials, however, have repeatedly rejected such speculation and reaffirmed Islamabad’s position supporting an independent Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
Domestic political sentiment in Pakistan also remains strongly opposed to recognition without a just settlement for Palestinians.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Khan’s office claimed he had no knowledge that he was meeting an Israeli delegation.
“Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan visited London at his own expense, leading a delegation of 31 tourism representatives from Pakistan to participate in the World Travel Market (WTM),” the statement said. “During the event, a group of individuals from Israel visited the Pakistan Pavilion unannounced and met the Pakistani delegation without introducing themselves.”
“Despite this unexpected encounter, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan remained focused on his mission as a proud Pakistani and true patriot, dedicated to promoting a positive and progressive tourism narrative for Pakistan across the world,” it added.
The Foreign Office spokesperson was also asked about the upcoming visit of Jordan’s King Abdullah II to Pakistan and the possibility of discussions over Pakistan’s participation in the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza, Arab News reported.
The proposed ISF is expected to be a multinational security mission, drawing heavily on Muslim-majority nations, to help secure key areas of Gaza, support humanitarian access and assist in rebuilding basic administrative and policing structures.
“I am sure Palestine will feature in discussions that His Majesty will have in Islamabad,” he said. “On the role of the ISF, no decision has been taken on Pakistan’s participation.”
The mandate of the ISF itself was still under discussion at the UN Security Council.
“I don’t think the Security Council has reached a decision,” he added.
