Will Pakistan become the next Muslim-majority nation to recognize Israel? Probably not, but if Pakistanis look at the issue objectively, they would see that exchanging ambassadors with Jerusalem makes perfect sense.
Decisions by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to normalize ties with Israel have fueled speculation that Pakistan is preparing to follow suit. In a television interview in November, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was under “pressure” from the US and unnamed countries “with which we have good relations” to recognize Israel. Many commentators assumed he meant Saudi Arabia and the UAE
That same month, prominent Pakistani journalists also raised the issue of normalization. Given the sensitivity of the subject and most journalists’ reluctance to risk the displeasure of the military, this suggested that Pakistan’s powerful generals had likely ordered their mouthpieces to float a test balloon.
But Islamabad is unlikely to make progress. In his November interview, Mr. Khan that Pakistan recognizes that Israel would depend on a “just settlement” for the Palestinians. In December, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he had told the Emirates Foreign Minister that Pakistan “does not want and cannot build a relationship with Israel until a concrete and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue is found”.
Pakistan’s hostility to Israel is rooted in the Islamic republic’s view of being a vanguard of global pan-Islamism. Apparent solidarity with the Palestinians has long been the basis of Pakistani foreign policy.