Op-ed: Should we recognise Israel?
Ijaz Hussain
Not recognising Israel does not mean a total absence of contacts of any kind with it. Contrary to public perception, important Pakistani leaders, civilian and military, have maintained behind-the-scene contacts with Israeli leaders, diplomats or officials, without ever publicly acknowledging them
While conceding that the recognition of Israel is a very contentious issue, President Pervez Musharraf has, nonetheless, urged the Pakistani media to initiate an open and non-emotional debate on the issue. He has justified raising the issue on the grounds that Pakistan does not have any dispute with Israel and it need not be more Catholic than the Pope. The later remark refers to the fact that the Palestinians, the direct party to the dispute, have recognised Israel. The president also wants Pakistanis to review the issue on the basis of national interest. However, he has let it be known that any decision in the matter would be taken in light of the consensus at home, consultations with the Arab countries and the evolving situation in the Middle East.
The statement has caused furore in many quarters and the opposition parties, particularly the MMA, has threatened to launch a mass movement to oust him from power if he goes ahead with recognition. This article proposes to take up a number of issues: what is the significance of Musharraf’s statement at this point; what are the arguments, which militate against recognition; what are the benefits accruing from recognising Israel; finally, what would be the timing of recognition, if Pakistan does decide to go ahead with it?
Dealing with the first question, a word about the history and nature of relations between the two ideological states in the world is in order. Not recognising the Jewish State since 1948 when it came into existence does not mean a total absence of contacts of any kind with it. In fact, contrary to public perception, important Pakistani leaders, civilian and military, have maintained behind-the-scene contacts with Israeli leaders, diplomats or officials, without ever publicly acknowledging them.
Following the nuclear tests, Israel’s Channel 2 television claimed that “the relations with Pakistan were so close, especially in the 1980s that they almost stood on the verge of diplomatic relations”. It is only around the start of the Madrid peace process in early 1990s that a noticeable shift in this secretive diplomacy started. The question of recognition, which had been a taboo until then, was publicly raised for the first time by Benazir Bhutto, though she made it contingent on the “prime actors” moving closer to Israel. Israel did not follow up the issue. Bhutto’s desire to visit the Gaza Strip in August 1994, communicated to Israel though diplomatic channels was interpreted at least in Pakistan at the time as a circuitous attempt at recognition, despite a disclaimer to the contrary from the Pakistan Foreign Office.
Subsequently, following India’s decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, Nawaz Sharif, during his first term of office, contemplated recognition and normalisation of relations but was reportedly dissuaded from doing so by Egypt. The Israeli ambassador to India later confirmed the move by the Sharif government. He acknowledged that his country was discussing the issue of recognition with Pakistan. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman, while understandably denying the news, at the same time did not rule out the possibility of favourable consideration of the issue under certain conditions.
During Nawaz Sharif’s second term of office, his press secretary and spokesperson for the ruling Muslim League, Siddiq-ul-Farooq publicly declared that there was no harm in recognising the Jewish State. The statement created an uproar, with the opposition accusing Sharif of operating through “a salaried employee” and termed the suggestion a “conspiracy” against Pakistan and the Muslim world.
It is also worthy of note that before this incident, Maulana Ajmal Qadri of JUI visited Israel apparently to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Upon his return, he called for recognition of Israel by Pakistan “in the larger interests of Palestine” and to prevent India from hatching plots against Islamabad. Besides, he argued that Pakistan “should not fight other people’s wars”. This did not go down well with his colleagues or with the opposition, though Pir Mohammad Ashraf, another religious leader from Lahore, supported him.
It is obvious from the foregoing that Musharraf is not the first one to broach the subject. However, Musharraf, like his two immediate predecessors scared of the opposition, is in the process of retracing his steps after floating the trial balloon. It is quite unfortunate that the question of recognition has coincided with the president’s visit to the US, which has given the impression as if it is being choreographed by the latter. It is true that the recognition of Israel has always been on the American agenda. But simply because it is so does not mean that we should not attend to this issue even if our national interest demands so. We will take the merits and demerits of the case in the second part.
dailytimes.com.pk
The writer is Professor Department of International Relations, Dean of Social Sciences Quaid-e-Azam University, and author of several books |
