NEW YORK – Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Pakistan will not recognise Israel until there is a homeland for the Palestinians, he said this during an event at the Asian Society in New York City on Thursday evening.
While replying to reply a question over speculation that Pakistan was considering a foreign policy shift towards Israel, he said, “I don’t know where these types’ of reports were originating from.
Earlier, speculation has been rife that Pakistan may be open to establishing formal relations with Israel due to the reconfiguring of relations between the Gulf nations and Israel, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, reported Middle East Eye on Friday.
“Pakistan has a very straightforward position. It was our founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who was very clear that there has to be just settlement, a homeland for Palestinians before Pakistan can recognise Israel,” Khan said to rapturous applause.
According to the news portal, the debate mostly began in early September when renewed journalist Kamran Khan asked on Twitter: “Why can’t we openly debate pros cons of opening direct and overt channels of communication with the State of Israel?”
The tweet was interpreted by many as an attempt to test Pakistani public opinion about Israel.
