Recently, a prominent news has taken the people of Pakistan by storm; Pakistan made a trade with Israel! Much to the dismay of the citizens of Pakistan, the development came after the trade of edible items was made between the Jewish garrison and the Muslim fort. Different analysts speculated myriad of theories and future prospects; however, no one is certain what would happen next. Since the inception, or even before the inception of Pakistan, its leaders have adopted a staunch Anti-Semitic position. Whether it is the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, or the premiers like Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, they remained critical of Israel. Although, to some extent on some occasions, both countries have helped each other on a diplomatic level and military level, it was not a lasting or abundantly-happening scenario. With the recent news, the Clergy is inveighing while the seculars are also hesitant to give their opinion on the issue. The relations between Israel and Pakistan remained quarrelsome for decades; or, in fact, since the inception of both countries.
“Every man and woman of the Muslim world will die before Jewry seizes Jerusalem.” These were the words of the first Governor-General of Pakistan and the founder of the Land of the Pure, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, aka Quaid-e-Azam (Literal translation; The Great Leader). In the post-Khilafat Movement era, Pakistan’s founding fathers held a stalwart stance on the Israel-Palestine issue. Muhammad Ali Jinnah spoke for Palestinian rights on different national and International forums. Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s perspective was no different than that of Quaid-e-Azam. Every prolific leader of Pakistan, before Pakistan was officially etched on the world map, condemned Jewish atrocities in Palestine (Although Israel was not officially named before 1948), and censured The Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration was an official statement by the British Government in 1917 where it announced its full-fledged support for the Jewish people of Palestine and who had been demanding for a sovereign region. It must be kept in mind that at the time of this Declaration, The Ottomans were holding the reigns of Palestine. After the inception of Pakistan in 1947, ministers and bureaucrats were harsh to criticize Israel, and some years later, in 1952, Zafarullah Khan- the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan- opposed the ‘illegitimate’ partition of Palestine under The Balfour Declaration at UN Ad Hoc Committee conference.
In 2007, Moshe Yegar, a researcher from Israel, published an article in the Jewish Political Studies Review journal revealing the alleged assistance of Pakistan to Palestinians in 1948’s Arab-Israel War. The article was well-received by the Semitic public while Muslims procrastinated to deny it. Yegar further divulged that Pakistan was responsible for succor to Egypt in the form of Italian military-grade aircraft. In 1967, there was a war between the Gulf nations- with Egypt being at the front- and Israel. This war was called The Six-Day War of 1967. Pakistan provided aid to the Gulf nations’ battle front. Scores of Pakistani pilots were sent to rage against Israel. Consequently, in 1973, the war of Yom Kippur, also known as the Ramadan War, was fought between the Arab states- Egypt and Syria as the leaders- and the Jewish bulwark. Pakistan sent assistance to the quash Israel; reports say that Saif-ul-Azam, a Pakistani pilot, had shot down four Israeli airplanes during the war. Similarly, in 1982, the Israel-Lebanon War was fought, and as usual, Pakistan sided with Lebanon to push off Israel.
The U.S Air Force Air University published an article by the name– India Thwarts Israeli Destruction of Pakistan’s “Islamic Bomb”- which disclosed the plan, hatched in 1982 by Israel, to attack Pakistan’s Kahuta Nuclear Base. The article further remarked that India refused to lend a helping hand as it would have framed India for another digression from the charters that it had signed with the United Nations and Pakistan regarding the preservation of peace. In October of 2015, different premiers of different countries were invited at a dinner party in New York City’s hotel. The Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, recused himself of attending the desert as Pakistan’s top-notch personality, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was also attending the party. Another such incident is recorded by Hafeez Danish, a researcher from Pakistan, in an article in which he cited refusal of Pakistani authorities to provide passport to Alyne Tamir and her fiance Nasseir Yassin, who both were famous vloggers hailing from Israel and wanted to visit Pakistan.
With all these piques and grudges, it is undoubtedly surprising that both these countries have cooperated with each other on some grounds. For instance, during the reign of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980s, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was directed by President Zia to confabulate with Mossad (Israel’s intelligence Agency) over the issue of Afghan-Soviet War. The deal was brokered by the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The Furious Four (MI6, CIA, ISI, Mossad) initiated the infamous Operation Cyclone against the USSR. Israel helped the Afghan Mujahideen by providing weaponry covertly. Katz Yaakov, in an article, written in 2010, revealed that at the beginning of 2008, Pakistan leaked information of a possible attack on Israeli citizens living in Mumbai, India. Following the report, in November 2008, a heinous attack perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba, was carried out in India in Mumbai. These incidents indicate that Realism is still a dominant notion in the eyes of Pakistani Government.
It is an avid truth that realism is the most dominant notion among the countries of the world. Every country is looking for its own benefits and to gain such benefits it makes its diplomacy and foreign policy accordingly. To give an example from the recent development in Middle East Asia, thaw between Iran and Saudi Arab on the mediation of China is the best example. Liberals and seculars of Pakistan contend that if Iran and Saudi Arab- the sheer foes since the Iranian Revolution of 1979- can resort to rapprochement, why Pakistan and Israel cannot make a deal. At the same time, the conservative class asserts that normalization between Israel and Pakistan would be a machination to Palestinian people who have been suffering unimaginable atrocities at the hands of Israelis. Although the government of Pakistan has denied any trade run with Israel, various videos have been circulating on the internet of the Pakistani edible being sold in Israel.
About the Author
The author is a CSS aspirant and holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Linguistics. Having two major publications (research papers) in HEC-recognized journals on the bachelorette level under his name, his articles have been published on the Reader’s Corner blog site and in the Express Tribune editorials. He can be reached at kashif.wa32@gmail.com
