Pakistan PM reassures Arab leaders about Israel talks
Pakistan Times Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz reassured Arab leaders on Wednesday that Pakistan would not recognise Israel until Palestinians get their own independent state, the foreign ministry said.

Aziz spoke to his Jordanian, Syrian and Egyptian counterparts and the Arab League's secretary general to brief them about last week's historic talks between the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom last Thursday in Istanbul, the first official high-level contact since the two countries were created almost six decades ago.

"The Prime Minister made it clear that the contact in Istanbul did not imply recognition by Pakistan of Israel," it said.

The Objective

"It was essentially meant to engage the Israelis to encourage them to resolve the Middle East problem."

Aziz noted that Israel had taken a "significant step" by vacating Gaza and Pakistan wanted to see the process continue at an accelerated pace in the West Bank.

Aziz "re-affirmed Pakistans principled position" on the issue, emphasizing that recognition of Israel would depend on the establishment of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab leaders appreciated Aziz's briefing and expressed the hope that the contact between Israel and Pakistan would help the peace process in the Middle East, the Pakistani statement said.

In-depth

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has reassured Arab leaders that Pakistan would not recognise Israel until Palestinians get their own independent state, the foreign ministry said.

Aziz spoke to his Jordanian, Syrian and Egyptian counterparts and the Arab League's secretary general to brief them about last week's historic talks between the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom last Thursday in Istanbul, the first official high-level contact since the two countries were created almost six decades ago.

"The Prime Minister made it clear that the contact in Istanbul did not imply recognition by Pakistan of Israel," it said. "It was essentially meant to engage the Israelis to encourage them to resolve the Middle East problem."

Aziz noted that Israel had taken a "significant step" by vacating Gaza and Pakistan wanted to see the process continue at an accelerated pace in the West Bank.

Aziz "re-affirmed Pakistans principled position" on the issue, emphasizing that recognition of Israel would depend on the establishment of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab leaders appreciated Aziz's briefing and expressed the hope that the contact between Israel and Pakistan would help the peace process in the Middle East, the Pakistani statement said.●