File photo. Raveendran—AFP
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Sunday maintained that there no efforts underway for Pakistan to normalize its ties with Israel, adding any decision to this effect will be determined in light of the national interests of Pakistan and the Palestinian people.
Speaking with daily Dawn on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, he clarified the Israeli foreign minister had not met any Pakistani official in recent times. Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen claimed that “six or seven” Islamic nations were nearing normalization of ties with Israel following Saudi Arabia’s potential inclusion in the Abraham Accords alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Speaking with Israeli media, he claimed he had met leaders of several Muslim countries who had yet to recognize Israel.
The statement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his address to the 78th U.N. General Assembly, claimed peace with Saudi Arabia meant peace between the Muslim world and Jews.
Jalil, to a query on whether he had discussed the Israel situation with other Muslim nations, replied in the negative. “We are not thinking on those lines at all,” he said, adding he would not even be able to recognize his Israeli counterpart, as he had never met him.
Earlier, the foreign minister stated during a meeting of the OIC committee of six Muslim foreign ministers on Palestine on the sidelines of UNGA summit that Pakistan continued to support the people of Palestine. Reiterating a call for “the establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, on the basis of internationally agreed parameters, pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” he voiced concern over the continued deterioration of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Condemning all Israeli atrocities, including the killing of innocent civilians, storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, expansion of illegal settlements, and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, he said these were “in complete disregard for human rights and rule of law.” Calling for accountability of Israel over these illegal actions, the OIC meeting called on the global community to take concerted actions to stop Israeli atrocities against the civilian Palestinian population. It also proposed the formation of a joint group open to all OIC member states to promote implementation of the Committee’s decisions.