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Israeli-Pakistani FMs Meet, Ties "in the Making"
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Kasuri,
left, and Shalom with Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin (c). (Reuters)
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ISTANBUL,
September 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid
Kasuri met in Istanbul Thursday, September 1, in the first-ever high
level meeting between the Jewish state and Pakistan, which does not
recognize Israel in the first place.
"Pakistan
gives great importance to the developments in Israel and the Gaza
Strip," Kasuri told reporters after the talks at a top hotel in
Istanbul.
"Pakistan
has therefore decided to engage with Israel," he said, without
elaborating, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Shalom,
for his part, said the meeting heralded a new era in bilateral ties.
"This
is a historic meeting," the Israeli minister said. "We see
this meeting as the beginning of a new period, the beginning of open
and useful mutual relations."
He
hailed the "courage" of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
in "supporting peace between Israel and the Muslim World".
Shalom
and Kasuri then held separate press conferences.
Not
Recognition
Kasuri
later told Al-Jazeera the meeting did not mean his Muslim country's
recognition of Israel, but was a step on the way of normalizing
relations in a bid to establish diplomatic ties.
Kasuri
added further that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was
notified of the meeting, stressing Abbas was "very positive"
and encouraged the move.
Shalom,
on his part, said Israel hoped the meeting would "finally lead to
a full diplomatic relationship with Pakistan as we would like to see
with all Arab countries, but of course it needs to be done step by
step".
"I
don't see obstacles, I see only a breakthrough today. We made a huge
breakthrough today...," Shalom said.
"This
is the appropriate time for all the Muslim and Arab countries to
reconsider their relations with Israel. We think it will be a very
positive signal to Israeli and Palestinian public opinion that there
are some fruits from this withdrawal from Gaza," he added.
An
Israeli diplomatic source told AFP Shalom and Kasuri were hoping to
"normalize ties" in a bid to set up diplomatic relations.
"It
is premature to speak about establishing diplomatic relations, but it
is definitely a step towards normalization of relations," the
spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy, Sharon Bar-Li Saar, told AFP.
According
to Pakistani daily The Dawn, (Pakistani President Pervez)
Musharraf telephoned Abbas Tuesday, August 30, and informed him about
the proposed Kasuri-Shalom meeting. The Palestinian president’s
response was ‘very positive’ and he welcomed the initiative.
Thursday's
meeting took place in Istanbul after Turkey, which enjoys close ties
with both countries, played a key mediating role towards a possible
rapprochement.
The
Turkish Foreign Ministry, however, issued a statement, earlier
Thursday, denying any role is setting up the meeting or even prior
knowledge of it.
Finally
Public
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The move is expected to cause shockwaves in Pakistan. (Reuters)
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According
to The Dawn, covert contacts between representatives of
the Jewish state and Pakistan had been going on for several months
through diplomatic and informal channels.
"However,
the decisive factor for the first open political contact between the
two countries was the Israeli pullout from Gaza last month which in
Pakistan is viewed as a positive move and has been welcomed by the
government."
The
paper added that the Israeli government apparently approached Pakistan
several times in the last one year to make the contacts public.
"The
response from Islamabad each time was that it would do so at an
‘appropriate’ time. After the Israeli pullout from Gaza, Pakistan
signaled to the Israelis that it was ‘now ready’ for an overt
contact."
The
two sides then decided to have the meeting on a neutral territory.
Pakistan, according to The Dawn, took the Turkish leadership
into confidence and suggested Istanbul as the venue for the
groundbreaking meeting.
"Turkey
gave the green light and Israel also agreed to hold the first meeting
there. It was decided not to make the meeting public till it had taken
place."
Diplomats
say Israel and Pakistan have conducted informal dialogue in recent
months. Political analysts in Pakistan believe the two states have had
secret contacts for a number of years.
According
to The Dawn, successive Pakistani governments, including those
led by Gen Ziaulhaq, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, also had contact
with Israel.
"The
opening of Pakistan-Israel communication channels does not come out of
the blue. It follows Musharraf’s recent decision to address the
American Jewish Congress in New York in September. He will be the
first Muslim leader to do so."
The
Dawn further added that about two
years ago, Musharraf initiated a public debate on the controversial
question of Israel’s recognition.
"The
outcome of the debate led to the policy decision that the recognition
of Israel would be linked to the total withdrawal of Israel from
occupied Arab territories and establishment of an independent
Palestinian state.
"Added
to these factors are the strategic dimension and Pakistan’s national
security considerations and the influence of the Jewish lobby and
Israel in American policies."
In
January 2004, Musharraf shook hands and conversed warmly with former
Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres at a conference in Davos,
Switzerland.
Israeli
Gains
According
to Israeli daily Ha'aretz, the Kasuri-Shalom meeting is
expected to be followed by confidence-building measures, such as a
relaxation of Pakistan's ban against travel to Israel.
Shalom
said he and Kasuri had decided to take several diplomatic steps that
are still in the initial stages. He refused to elaborate, but
suggested that the countries may begin by sending ministerial
delegations.
"There
is no conflict whatsoever between Israel and Pakistan and no logical
reason why the two countries could not have a constructive and
positive bilateral relationship," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark
Regev said, according to Ha'aretz.
Shalom and Kasuri informally met Wednesday night at a dinner in
Istanbul, Ha'aretz reported, citing Israeli officials.
"The
meeting was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, a former Ottoman prison,
not far from Topkapi Palace. Security was extremely tight with Turkish
and Israeli security officials searching bags and even disassembling
photographers' cameras."
Zalman
Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington and a foreign policy
adviser to Sharon, said Israel would welcome relations with Islamabad,
and has been quietly working toward that goal.
"There
have been contacts on different levels with Pakistani officials for
several years," Shoval told The Associated Press. "Even I
myself had contacts with the Pakistani ambassador during my tenure in
Washington and I always heard the willingness and desire to establish
relations at the right moment," he said.
Political
observers saw the meeting as a huge gain for Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, currently under a serious partisan challenge from his
former Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who declared his intention
to run for Likud Party's leader.
Analysts
believe the potential for direct diplomatic links between Pakistan and
Israel has been influenced by concerns in Islamabad of growing
military ties between the Jewish state and India that might affect the
strategic balance in South Asia. Direct relations could help moderate
those ties, according to Reuters.
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