Pakistan has not recognised Israel.
Pakistan’s policy, like that of most Muslim states, is to support the creation of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine in line with UN resolutions.
Only once that is done will Israel be recognised. This has been Pakistan’s stated policy for the past 50 years and has not changed at any point in time, regardless of what people may say or want to believe.
This also makes one wonder just why the TLP carried out its protest, given that Pakistan’s official government policy has always supported Palestinians and their demand for their own sovereign state unequivocally. Furthermore, when Hamas itself has agreed to the plan, then why should Pakistan or any other Muslim state, for that matter, not put its support behind it?
During the past weekend, the deal was signed at the Peace Summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. To reiterate, it was signed by Hamas, and so for Pakistan to not put its support behind it would mean that it is diverging from its own stated policy on Palestine.
The fact that Hamas has signed on, albeit with reservations reported on several other parts, should signal to Pakistan and Pakistanis in general that they too must get on board, much like most of the other Muslim states. If Hamas itself has agreed to it, then why would (or should) any other Muslim state think otherwise and act against it?
Isn’t the stated policy explicitly to support the people of Palestine in setting up their own independent state? And if they are on board with the plan, then Pakistan or any other Muslim country should have no business throwing a spanner in the works.
Pakistan was the only country whose leader, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, present at the Peace Summit, was invited to say a few words by US President Donald Trump
Those who don’t know all this should read up on history. Israel has not been officially recognised, and that will happen only if the above-stated conditions are satisfied.
Furthermore, Pakistan is one of the key states that is expected to play an important role in establishing Middle East peace. To this end, Pakistan was invited to witness the signing of the deal along with other key Muslim and other states. In fact, Pakistan was the only country whose leader, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, present at the Peace Summit, was invited to say a few words by US President Donald Trump. And as he invited the Pakistani Prime Minister to speak, President Trump mentioned Pakistan’s army chief (who was not present), calling him “my favourite field marshal”.
All this must come as a source of severe heartburn for many groups of people who are not well-wishers of Pakistan by any stretch of the imagination. Among them are most Indians, especially supporters of Modi and his BJP government, who seem hugely upset at how Pakistan has come into America’s good books and how isolated India has become. However, to hide this, they, as trolls, always go on the offensive and make ad hominem attacks on Pakistan. They found a good occasion to do this when Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif heaped effusive praise on US President Donald Trump, saying that he would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize again.
This deft massaging of Trump’s ego by Shehbaz Sharif is a good example of using a different technique, in a manner that is not all that diplomatic, to shower massive praise on a person who happens to be the most powerful individual in the world. There is nothing wrong with employing such an approach since the objective is to further the country’s national interest by allying strongly with the world’s most powerful and richest country.
The Indians who have been mocking the praise that Shehbaz Sharif heaped on Donald Trump should remember how their own prime minister has several times even held rallies in favour of the US President, where he assembled tens of thousands of Indians all chanting praise for Mr Trump. And also how their government has bent over backwards to entertain and lay out the red carpet for the Afghan foreign minister during his recent visit to India.
As for the other group that is very upset with these developments, supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan, there can be no hope for people whose sole aim in life seems to be to gain the release of their leader. One may well ask how this is any different from a cult where the sole objective is to protect and serve the leader and always exhibit the utmost loyalty.
And as far as supporting or not supporting the Gaza peace plan is concerned, what are those who are not supporting it trying to prove? That they are more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves?