Rejects speculation on Pakistan’s adherence to Abraham accord during media briefing in Washington
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addresses the media at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC on Friday. SCREEN GRAB
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday categorically rejected any notion of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords, reiterating that there would be “no flexibility” in Islamabad’s position on the matter until the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
“There are a lot of rumors going on related to the Abraham Accords, let me make it clear that Pakistan’s position is very clear and consistent on that. Until Palestine is recognized on the pre-1967 model with Quds Al Sharif as the capital, there will be no flexibility,” Dar said while addressing the media at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC.
The foreign minister was speaking after a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who acknowledged Pakistan’s “sincere diplomatic and mediation efforts” for peace and stability in the region.
Read: Top US diplomat Rubio affirms Pakistan’s ‘sincere’ diplomatic peace efforts to FM Dar as Iran deal nears
The clarification came days after US President Donald Trump said he had asked several countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel.
In a lengthy post on social media, Trump listed countries whose leaders he said he had spoken to regarding efforts to end the war with Iran.
“After all the work the United States has done trying to piece together this very complex puzzle, it should be mandatory that all of these countries sign the Abraham Accords at the very least at the same time,” Trump wrote.
“The countries under discussion are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to expand the deals brokered during his first term in office.
The Abraham Accords are US-sponsored agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries during Trump’s first term.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the agreements in 2020, becoming the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to establish ties with Israel. Morocco, Kazakhstan and Sudan later followed suit.
Trump had previously expressed optimism that Saudi Arabia would also join the accords following a ceasefire in Gaza last year, although Riyadh has yet to indicate a willingness to move forward. Egypt and Jordan already have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Also read: Trump links the Iran deal to the Abraham deal
Pakistan has long maintained support for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Last year, after US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff suggested that additional countries not previously “considered” were preparing to join the accords, Pakistan again ruled out recognizing Israel.
“We are not ready to recognize Israel until the two-state solution to the Palestine conflict is accepted,” Dar said at the time. “There is no change in our stated policy on the Palestine issue.”
He had also said that signing the Abraham Accords would amount to abandoning Pakistan’s long-standing demand for a Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders.
“Let it be clear to all that our seven-decade policy remains unchanged,” he had said.
