ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) has rejected reports quoting Prime Minister Imran Khan as saying Pakistan was facing pressure from the United States to recognise Israel.
In a statement, Foreign Office spokesman the reports as “fabrication” in certain sections of the media claiming that the prime minister said Pakistan was under US “pressure” to recognise Israel.
“The prime minister had clearly articulated Pakistan’s position that unless a just settlement of the Palestine issue, satisfactory to the Palestinian people, was found, Pakistan could not recognize Israel,” said the spokesman
He said the prime minister had stressed that Pakistan’s policy in this regard was rooted in Quaid-e-Azam’s vision. He said the prime minister’s remarks are an unequivocal reaffirmation of Pakistan’s position on the subject, leaving no room for baseless speculation.
“For a just, comprehensive and lasting peace,” he said Pakistan will continue to support a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions as well as international law, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of Palestine.
The media has shared a report quoting the prime minister that pressure to recognise Israel was “extraordinary during the Trump stint” and a second country was also pressuring Pakistan.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan normalised relations with Israel, while reports stated that the Trump administration hoping Saudi Arabia to follow suit.
In an interview with a private channel in August, the prime minister had categorically said that Pakistan could not recognise Israel as a state until freedom to Palestine.
“Quaid-i-Azam had said in 1948 that Pakistan could not recognise Israel unless it gave freedom to Palestinians. If we recognise Israel and ignore tyranny faced by the Palestinians, we will have to give up (the cause of) Kashmir as well, and this we cannot do,” he stated.
