The Defence Minister of Pakistan, Khawaja Asif, clarified his stance, saying he was not in favour of his country joining the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel. Asif’s statement came after US President Donald Trump asked countries involved in the peace talks with Iran to sign on to the Abraham Accords, which deal with establishing diplomatic, economic, and security ties between Israel and Arab nations.
"Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord which clashes with our fundamental ideologies,” Asif said during an interview on a talk show on Monday night. Among the negotiators, the UAE and Bahrain are already members of the Accords, and Trump expects Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, and Jordan to sign up.
Pakistan's defence minister also talked about his country's long-standing position to not accept Israel until the Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital is established.
“We have a very clear stance that it is not acceptable to us,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the question of credibility. “How will you sit with those people whose word cannot be trusted for even a single day?” he asked.
He also mentioned Pakistan's passport, which says it is not valid for travel to Israel. Asif is among the politicians who vehemently oppose any idea of normalisation of ties with the Jewish state.
Last month, he called Israel a “curse for humanity”, while accusing it of carrying out genocide in the region.
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