Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said he is not in favour of Islamabad joining the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel, reiterating Pakistan’s long-held stance on the Palestinian issue.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump urged countries involved in peace talks with Iran to sign on to the Abraham Accords, agreements aimed at 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 with Samaa TV on Monday night.
The UAE and Bahrain are already signatories to the Accords, while Trump has expressed hopes that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt and Jordan would also join.
Asif said Islamabad would not recognise Israel until a Palestinian state is established on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. “We have a very clear stance that it is not acceptable to us,” he said.
Questioning Israel’s credibility, the minister added: “How will you sit with those people whose word cannot be trusted for even a single day?” He also pointed to Pakistan’s passport policy, which explicitly states it is not valid for travel to Israel.
Asif, a vocal critic of any move towards normalising ties with Israel, had last month described the country as a “curse for humanity” while accusing it of carrying out genocide in the region.
(With inputs from PTI)