Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan says his country will not recognise Israel until Palestine has freedom and independence.
In an interview on Dunya News, Khan rejected any prospects of Pakistan establishing relations with Israel.
“The Quaid-i-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) had said in 1948 that Pakistan could not recognise Israel unless it gave freedom to Palestinians.
“If we recognise Israel and ignore tyranny faced by the Palestinians, we will have to give up (the cause of) Kashmir as well, and this we cannot do”, said Khan.
Khan said accepting Israel was is equivalent to giving up Pakistan’s long-held stance on Indian occupied territories in Kashmir.
“The case of Palestinians is similar to people of Kashmir and their (Palestinians) rights have been snatched and they have been suffering Israeli atrocities.”
His comments come a week after the US-brokered ‘historic deal’ signed between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel to normalise bilateral ties.
Palestinian factions accused the Gulf Arab state of turning its back on Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and an Israeli-led blockade in Gaza.
