Editorial: Relations with Israel? Mush breaking Pakistani isolation..
dailytimes.com.pk
Talking to a Pakistani independent TV news channel, General Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan could seriously ponder the matter of recognising Israel — once the Palestinian crisis was resolved in the Middle East — in light of the collective decision taken on it by the Arab states. He correctly put a political gloss on the question and did not fall into the trap of eternal “scriptural” animosity towards the Jewish state. The conservative orthodoxy in Pakistan usually rules out diplomatic relations with Israel on religious grounds. Reference is made often to the warnings delivered in the Holy Quran about the perfidy of the followers of Judaism and Christianity. The fact that we have diplomatic relations with Christian secular states belies any principle derived from this reading. There should be no problem with having diplomatic relations with an enemy country. These can be at times maintained even when the countries are in a state of semi-war. The matter is not religious at all.
Non-recognition of Israel is a legal issue. The injustice of the creation of Israel in 1948 laid the first brick in the rejectionist edifice. Three wars were fought between the Arabs and American-aided Israel in which more territory was lost to Israel. A UN Security Council resolution called on Israel to evacuate the territories grabbed by it in 1967. There was a string of further resolutions about aggression carried out by Israel on the territory inhabited by the Palestinians. However, with the passage of time, the Arab states began negotiating with Israel. Egypt recognised Israel in 1979. Today, Jordan is among half a dozen other Muslim states located in the Middle East that recognise it. Last year, Saudi Arabia proposed at the Arab League that Israel withdraw to the 1967 borders according to the relevant UN Security Council resolution in return for an Arab recognition. Quite clearly there is no religious edict against recognising Israel. General Musharraf’s view that Pakistan align its position with the Arab states is realistic in the sense that we have economically crucial relations with the latter that recognition of Israel might affect. Recognising Israel after consulting with the Arab states is a realistic option.
One must however put to test the possibility of recognising Israel as a strategic move without prejudicing relations with the Arab states. India recognised Israel in 1992 but had clandestine military relations with it much before that without jeopardising its relations with the Arabs, especially in the region where we fear adverse reaction against our expatriate workers. Not only has India not suffered any particular backlash from the Arabs, it has assumed greater importance for the Palestinians and their leader Yasser Arafat who has used New Delhi often as a channel of communication with Tel Aviv. The BJP government has campaigned in Washington for closer military ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, proposing that Israel’s high-tech military machine be spearheaded by India’s vast military manpower against “Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism”. The crux of this policy is the acquisition by India of American military technology — banned under law in Washington — though Israel.
Pakistan realised the strategic significance of the Indian move early. General Zia was the first Pakistani ruler who publicly uttered the heresy of recognising Israel. A study was made by the Pakistan army in 1994 which proposed that Pakistan protect its strategic interests by recognising Israel. Surprisingly, it was the civilian government of the time that got cold feet on the subject. Pakistani presence in Tel Aviv could force Israel to balance its relations with India and recognise Pakistan’s strategic importance in the area. Together with Egypt, Jordan and the Central Asian states, Pakistan can become a counterpoise to the one-sided diplomacy of Israeli extremists. Israel’s isolation is responsible for most of its cantankerous behaviour. * |
