|
2021-01-31 India-Pakistan
|
|
Why Pakistan won’t be next to normalize with Israel
|
[AsiaTimes] Domestic constraints, support for Paleostine and growing ties with Iran will likely continue to keep Pakistain and Israel apart
The Abraham Accords have brought about peace between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, with Sudan and Morocco also set to develop full diplomatic relations with Israel.
The guessing game is on as to which Arab or Moslem country night be next to recognize Israel. Pakistain is often mentioned in this regard and the Pak media have speculated about this too. But near-term Pak-Israeli peace is unlikely because of Pak domestic constraints and Islamabad’s foreign policy orientation.
Continued from Page 4
Public debate in Pakistain regarding an approach to Israel is not a new phenomenon, and it is no longer taboo to advocate for normalization of relations. The leader of Pakistain in 2003, General Pervez Perv Musharraf
 ...former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date...
, advocated publicly for warming relations with Israel.
In September 2005, Pak Foreign Minister Kurshid Kasiri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul — a rare public meeting — but it failed to thaw relations between the two countries.
There have been other secret meetings between leaders of the two countries. There are journalists and even religious leaders that have spoken publicly about the need for Pakistain to open up to Israel.
What is equally clear is the great opposition to rapprochement with Israel, particularly among various Islamist circles that carry considerable political weight. Moreover, anti-Semitic convictions are widespread in Pakistain. According to a 2019 Pew poll, 74% of Paks held unfavorable views of Jews.
The official government position requires "a just settlement" to the Paleostinian issue
...as the chant goes, “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free!” before a change in policy towards the Jewish state can be considered.
Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan , who is the lightweight's lightweight...
even admitted to resisting pressures from the US (and another unidentified country believed to be Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
) to establish diplomatic ties to Israel.
It remains unclear, however, whether the Pak political elite can emulate Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf states in decoupling the Paleostinian issue from the potential benefits of building ties to Israel. A corollary unknown is the ability of more pragmatic elements of the Pak political elite to act against popular sentiments.
They certainly haven’t done in other matters thus far. Pakistain’s enmity towards Israel is of no real advantage to Pakistain. Arab states have not really supported Pakistain on the Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir . The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
issue. By boycotting Israel, Pakistain forfeits much needed Israeli expertise in agriculture, telecommunications, water management, medical services and high tech.
All that’s very well, but Jinnah’s dream of a Muslim nation in the Indian subcontinent, the Land of the Pure, is the reason Pakistan exists. What is material poverty compared to that? Anyway, they can always buy stuff from China using loans from the IMF, right? A relationship with Israel also could open doors in Washington, where Pakistain is increasingly under suspicion for cooperation with China and Islamist terrorists.
Pakistain should be under no illusion that Israel will give up what Narendra Modi has called "a strategic partnership" between India and Israel. The India-Israel tie involves strategic coordination, cooperation against terror, transfer of military technology, co-production of weapons, and arms sales.
Moreover, India is a huge and lucrative market for a variety of Israeli products and services. India is also a rising global power that in realpolitik terms is much more important than its western neighbor.
They started out on par, but it turns out that catering to the emotions of the Muslim mob is really bad for development. Finally, for Israel the alternative to India’s economic and strategic weight is China. China’s interactions with Israel are strictly limited to the economic realm due to American concerns about transfer of military or dual-use technology to its global rival.
The repeated discussions in Pakistain about ties with Israel are followed with interest only by the narrow Israeli foreign policy community. Most Israelis do no know much about Pakistain. Generally, its image is associated with Islamist hard boyz that attacked, inter alia, Jewish targets in India in 2008.
Seems reasonable to me. The fact that the late Osama bin Laden
...... who doesn't live anywhere anymore......
found refuge in Pakistain reinforced this image. A growing number of Israelis, partly former backpacker hikers (over 20,000 per year), feel sympathy towards India, which is seen as the largest democracy displaying tolerance for Jews.
Nevertheless, Israel would welcome in principle any approach by an important Moslem state such as Pakistain. Israel always seeks to expand its international recognition and legitimacy.
Israel also has an interest in diluting the religious dimension of conflict in the ethno-religious Israeli-Paleostinian conflict. In contrast to the more secular West, Israelis understand the importance of religious matters in politics. In fact, the Abraham Accords were received in Israel enthusiastically, partly because the mere name of Abraham — a common ancestral father — lent religious legitimacy to Israel.
Israel also values its good relations with Moslem states in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Israelis expect Moslem states not to link disagreements regarding progress on the Paleostinian question to decisions about establishing bilateral relations with Israel.
Unfortunately, international politics do not augur well for a near-term improvement in Israel-Pakistain ties. Pakistain is getting closer to Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
, a country whose leadership seeks the destruction of Israel.
Islamabad’s relations with Ankara, which is ruled by a Ottoman Turkish version of the Moslem Brüderbund, have been traditionally close. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
’s aggressive policies including sending mercenaries to fight in Kashmir are viewed in Jerusalem as an increasing security challenge.
Pakistain has also challenged Saudi leadership in the Moslem world, while Riyadh is moving closer to Israel and has played an important supporting role in American diplomatic efforts to expand the Abraham Accords.
Why would anyone follow Pakistan? Their role is to provide semi-skilled labour, exotic hunting trips, and jihadis in job lots. Furthermore, Pakistain’s links to China, its role in nuclear proliferation and its ambiguous posture towards Islamist holy warriors do not endear Pakistain in Washington, which is of course Israel’s most important ally.
To Washington’s displeasure, Pakistain also has failed to comply with guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force, an international anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financial institution. In short, Pakistain’s current foreign policy makes it an unattractive partner for Israel.
C’mon man — they’re only on the grey list. They aren’t due to be moved to the black list for at least a few more days. Considering domestic realities in Pakistain and Pakistain’s foreign policy orientation, the occasional rumors of a breakthrough in ties between Jerusalem and Islamabad are likely to remain just that — unsubstantiated rumors.
Jinnah’s dream, turned nightmare. 
|
Posted by trailing wife 2021-01-31 02:37||
||
Front Page|| [8 views ]
Top
File under: Govt of Pakistan
|
|
07:47 NN2N1
07:33 Skidmark
07:32 Skidmark
07:28 Huputle+Cherelet4131
07:27 Skidmark
07:25 Frank G
07:22 Frank G
07:21 NN2N1
07:17 Skidmark
07:16 Frank G
07:12 Skidmark
07:10 badanov
07:10 Skidmark
07:03 Skidmark
07:02 Procopius2k
07:01 Procopius2k
07:00 Frank G
06:59 Procopius2k
06:57 Skidmark
06:55 Skidmark
06:53 Skidmark
06:53 Procopius2k
06:49 Skidmark
06:48 M. Murcek
|
