WHILE there may have been pressure from external quarters to do otherwise, Pakistan is right in not joining the Abraham Accords. Had it done so, it would have been expected to recognise and normalise ties with Israel. On Friday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a press conference that “our seven-decades-long policy” on Palestine “remains unchanged”. He also reiterated Pakistan’s support for the two-state solution. Every few years, there is talk of Pakistan possibly recognising the Zionist state. But Israel’s frequent blood-drenched forays in occupied Palestine serve as a sobering reminder that Pakistan cannot morally take such a decision. Under the 2020 accords, the UAE and Bahrain, and later Sudan and Morocco, recognised Israel. This was the first significant wave of normalisation after the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978, and Jordan’s peace treaty with Tel Aviv in 1994. The Abraham Accords are the Trump administration’s pet project; the US president’s point man for the Middle East Steve Witkoff recently said that other countries were also “contemplating” normalising ties with Israel. That any country would consider recognising Israel in the midst of the Gaza genocide is a reprehensible thought.

Had Israel had not been knee-deep in Palestinian blood, perhaps the idea of diplomatic ties could have been debated. However, there is widespread support in this country for Palestine, and opposition to Zionism. From the religious right to the progressive left, all shades of political opinion in Pakistan stand with Palestine. Support for Palestine has deep roots in our history; in 1938, the Quaid expressed that “all our sympathies … are with those [Arabs of Palestine] who are fighting the battle of freedom against usurpers”. When Pakistanis see images of Palestinians starved and massacred by the Zionist state, peace with Israel is unthinkable. Recognition would only ‘reward’ Israel for the monstrous crimes it continues to commit in Palestine.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2025