Pakistani PM denies reports of Israel talks, Muslim cleric supports ties
Israel has a long history of covert ties with Pakistan and has tried on a number of occasions to establish diplomatic relations with them.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: DECEMBER 20, 2020 19:46Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020.(photo credit: MOHAMMAD ISMAIL/REUTERS)Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied reports of behind-the-scenes efforts to establish ties between his country and Israel.Separately, a Pakistani cleric and politician Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani reportedly said that he supported relations with Israel.Khan rejected reports about the possibility of formal relations with Israel on Friday in an interview with Samaa TV published on Friday, the substance of which was published in the Saudi Arabian-based Arab News.He responded directly to a charge by Noor Dahri, the founder of British think-tank, Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, who claimed that an adviser to the prime minister had visited Israel at the end of November.Dahri, who has been attacked on social media following his statements on Twitter and to the Israeli media, including The Jerusalem Post about the trip, has been very specific about the details.“It was a morning of the last week of Nov... at around 8 a.m., a British Airways flight BA0165 flew from London Heathrow airport to Tel Aviv. The person, who booked business class, travelled from Pak[istan],” he tweeted.The Foreign Ministry has denied any knowledge of such a trip.Dahri said that the adviser met with Israeli officials and that Saudi Arabia was pressuring Pakistan to normalize relations with Israel by way of weaning it away from the Turkish-Iranian axis.According to Arab News, Khan said that his country would not recognize Israel until the conflict with the Palestinians was resolved. He questioned why anyone would go to Israel, given that there are no ties between the countries.Arab News reported that Khan said, “This is absolutely fake news,”On Sunday Dahri posted on his twitter page information about a speech in Pashto that he said Sherani delivered on Saturday.“Sherani a prominent religious figure, a Central Leader of JUI-F @juipakofficial and Ex-Chairman of the Pakistan Ideology Council says he supports Israel’s recognition. He says in Pashto, Israel’s recognition is an international issue.”Israel in the last four months has ratified normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Sudan, Morocco and Bhutan have also announced the normalization of relations with Israel.Speculation is high that other deals with Muslim and Arab countries could be forthcoming, such as with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and Indonesia.Israel has a long history of covert ties with Pakistan and has tried on a number of occasions to establish diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
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