NEW York: As Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen claimed six or seven Islamic states were likely to normalize relations with Israel, Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani maintained that Pakistan’s decision in this regard would be determined with consideration of both Pakistan’s national interests and those of the Palestinian people.
It is essential to mention that FM Jilani never said that any process to recognize Israel is underway; he mentioned the moral position of Pakistan anchored in UN Resolutions on Palestine, calling for an independent and sovereign state of Israel with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.
As reported by Israeli media outlet Kan News, Cohen suggested that “six or seven” Islamic nations were likely to normalize ties with Israel following Saudi Arabia’s potential inclusion in the Abraham Accords, which already involved the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
The Israeli minister also claimed to have met with leaders from several Muslim countries who have not recognized Israel yet.
In response to the Israeli FM’s assertion, a senior Pakistani diplomat clarified on the condition of anonymity that Cohen has not recently met with any Pakistani official.
In 2005, during the tenure of former president General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s then-foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri met with his then-counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey, Istanbul.
