Despite the second wave of the corona pandemic, recognition of Israel is one of the hot topics in Pakistani politics nowadays. The news became more vibrant after Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan revealed in an interview that Pakistan is passing through tremendous pressure for recognizing Israel from a friendly state. Earlier according to a press release, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with US secretary for foreign affairs Mike Pompeo conducted a meeting with KSA Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman a few days ago. All these developments occurred in a time when several prominent Muslim states like the United Arab Emirates agreed on a deal with Israel and acknowledged it as a state.
Currently, in Pakistan the level of thinking is divided into two categories regarding the issue, one thinks that under the nation-state system and in the greater interest of the country, Pakistan should recognize each and every state while others believe that Pakistan should stick to her strong stance and should never go to any action regarding recognition of Israel. Nevertheless, Pakistan is among one of those few states that have a strong and clear stance against Israel and always demands the right of self-determination for Palestine.
The foreign policy of Pakistan has supported the self-determination rights of Kashmiris and Palestine from the very first day, and it aims for a just settlement over these territories. Therefore, Pakistan as a state will never go against its own principles to recognize Israel.
Will Israel abandon India for Pakistan?
A school of thought in Pakistan argues that Pakistan should make ties with Israel to get an influential say in its favor against India. Moreover, they think that by recognizing Israel Pakistan can achieve more effective support in the USA as Israeli lobbying has had great influence in the white house and Pentagon over the decades. But the question is, will Israel abandon India over Pakistan’s recognition of it?
The answer is no, absolutely not, Israel along with the US and India has spent billions of dollars and conducted a number of significant Geo strategic facts and military agreements in Asia for the last four-five decades. How Israel will step back from its nexus with India and the United States in the region for Pakistan. So, the argument that by recognizing Israel, Pakistan can get maximum Israeli support against India’s anti-Pakistani ambitions is an illogical and weak one, and it is not going to happen by any means.
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Supporting Palestine means supporting Kashmir
Moreover, Pakistan has always compared both issues, Palestine with that of Kashmir. From the very first day, it has asked the United Nations to give the right of self-determination to the people of both disputed lands. So, Pakistan will not weaken its position over Kashmir by recognizing Israel as it has always raised its voice for both in the same way. Pakistan wants a just settlement for both territories, so recognition of Israel will be a backshift in Pakistan’s just settlement approach for not only Palestinians but for Kashmir as well.
Along with the above arguments, one of the most important points is that recognition, according to international law is a retrospective effect. In other words, when a state is recognized by other states, it means that the latter is supposed to have recognized all the acts of the former from the date of its establishment. For instance, although Bangladesh got recognition from Pakistan two years after it came into being, yet Pakistan recognized all the acts of Bangladesh from the date of its creation. This means that if Pakistan recognizes Israel it will mean that Pakistan acknowledges it’s all illegal actions of occupying Palestinian territory forcefully, which will again weaken Pakistan’s claims of right of self-determination for Kashmir to a great extent.
Nevertheless, Pakistan is among one of those few states that have a strong and clear stance against Israel and always demands the right of self-determination for Palestine.
Moreover, every state shapes its foreign policy according to some specific priorities, interests, and principles. Like others, Pakistan has also some geostrategic and economic ambitions, for which it engages regional and international stakeholders, but it has also got some vital basic principles for shaping its foreign policy.
For instance, it is one of the significant preambles of Pakistan’s foreign policy to support those nations that are under suppression in one-way or another. In this regard, the foreign policy of Pakistan has supported the self-determination rights of Kashmiris and Palestine from the very first day, and it aims for a just settlement over these territories. Therefore, Pakistan as a state will never go against its own principles to recognize Israel.
Read more: Forget morality, recognizing Israel is against Pakistan’s national interest
The writer is doing his masters in international relations, and has a wide experience in writings for national and international newspapers. He can be contacted on barkatullahbarakaat@gmail.com. The views expressed in this article are writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.