The Foreign Office on Thursday \u201ccategorically rejected\u201d reports of a Pakistani delegation visiting Israel, clarifying that there was no change in the country\u2019s policy on the subject.
\nAccording to FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, the \u201creported visit in question was organised by a foreign NGO (non-government organisation) which is not based in Pakistan\u201d.
\nThe statement comes a day after several foreign media outlets reported that a \u201cPakistani delegation\u201d, including a former government minister, met Israeli Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem.
\n\u201cThe trip organiser said on Wednesday that the delegation included representatives from the American Muslims and Multifaith Women\u2019s Empowerment Council and Sharaka, a US-based non-government group founded in the wake of the Abraham Accords, which was brokered by the Trump administration in 2020 and normalised relations between Israel and four Arab countries \u2014 the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco,\u201d an Associated Press report said.
\nIt also quoted the head of the delegation, Naseem Ashraf, as quoting that the delegation was visiting Jerusalem to \u201cpromote inter-faith harmony\u201d.
\n\u201cHe refused to give any further details about other members of the delegation. Ashraf used to be Pakistan\u2019s development minister and the chairman of the Pakistani Cricket Board,\u201d the report added.
\nPakistan does not recognise Israel and, therefore, doesn\u2019t have diplomatic relations with it. The country has been a staunch supporter of a Palestinian state.
\nAfter the Abraham accords, Pakistan had made clear that it cannot recognise Israel until a \u201cjust settlement of the Palestinian issue\u201d is found.
\nIn the statement issued today, the FO spokesperson said that Pakistan\u2019s position on the Palestinian issue was clear and unambiguous.
\n\u201cThere is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is a complete national consensus. Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people\u2019s inalienable right to self-determination,\u201d he clarified.
\nAhmad added that the establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian State with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation resolutions, was \u201cimperative for just and lasting peace in the region\u201d.
\nEarlier this year, a controversy sparked after a number of Pakistani expats and a couple of citizens travelled to Israel as part of a delegation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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