Israel is like Pakistan, following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and Israel was born. In 1947, the British withdrew from British India, and Pakistan came into being. Both are ideological states. Both have large immigrant populations. The creation of both was initially rejected by organized religious lobbies while religious elements, in Israel as well as in Pakistan, are currently vying for political power. Israel was born in the midst of violence, so was Pakistan.
Israel does not recognize Pakistan. On January 22, 2004, Pakistani President-General Musharraf was in Davos. So was Shimon Peres. There was a random encounter between the two. Peres said, "Mr. President, there are so many rumors about the opening of relations between our countries." Musharraf smilingly confirmed the message.
"We are undertaking great efforts for this to happen," quipped Musharraf.
Pakistan does not recognize Israel. Here's why it should.
The United Nations has 191 members. Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 161 UN-member states through at least 75 resident embassies, 18 consulates, and five special missions. Pakistan has 78 diplomatic missions abroad.
The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has a total of 57 members. Of the 57, Albania, Azerbaijan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Guyana, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Oman, Surinam, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, and Uzbekistan have established diplomatic relations with Israel (some three years ago, Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia decided to suspend relations with Israel).
Israel has a total land mass of 20,330 sq.km., while the total length of Israel's borders with Egypt, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank stands at 1,017 km. (Pakistan has a land mass of 778,720 sq.km.). Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan are 266 km. and 238 km., respectively.
The border between Egypt and Israel has been at peace for more than 24 years. In 1979, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and prime minister Menachem Begin signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (US president Jimmy Carter signed as a witness).
Under the treaty, Egypt and Israel agreed to "recognize and respect each other's right to live in peace within their secure and recognized boundaries (Article III)."
Israel's embassy in Cairo. Israel's consulate in Alexandria.
The border between Jordan and Israel has been at peace for more than 10 years. In 1993, Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan officially ended their "state of war." On July 25, 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Washington Declaration "terminating the state of belligerency between them." On October 26, 1994, King Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin agreed on the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace under which "Peace is hereby established between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Article I).
" Under Article II, "The Parties will apply between them the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law governing relations among states in times of peace. In particular: They recognize and will respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence." Israel's embassy in Amman is located on Maysaloun Street.
On September 9, 1993, Israel and the PLO agreed to "recognize each other after 45 years of conflict." On September 10 of that year, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin signed documents recognizing the PLO. The same day, Yasser Arafat signed a letter "recognizing Israel and renouncing violence." Israel and the PLO have since signed the Declaration of Principles, the Cairo Agreement, also known as the Oslo Accords.
On December 8, 1999, president Bill Clinton announced that "prime minister Barak and president Assad have agreed that the Israel-Syrian peace negotiations will be resumed from the point that they were halted since January 1996." In Turkey, Israel's embassy in Ankara is located on Mahatma Ghandi 85. There also is a consulate in Istanbul located on Yapi Kredi Plaza Block, Levent. Qatar has an Israel Trade Representative Office on Ibn-Al-Buhaturi Street in Doha. Israel maintains an embassy in New Delhi, a consulate in Bombay, and an honorary consul in Calcutta. Israel also has an embassy in Beijing, a consulate in Hong Kong, and another one in Shanghai.
Israel achieved independence on May 14, 1948. Within a few days of its independence David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father, formally requested Pakistan's founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah's recognition. Is Musharraf going to answer Ben-Gurion's request?
We are Islami Jamhooriya-i-Pakistan. They are Medinat Yisrael. Pakistan was to protect the political rights of Muslims of the subcontinent. Israel was to do the same for Jews. Jinnah and Ben-Gurion were both secular. Jinnah and Ben-Gurion did not want theocratic states. Israel and Pakistan have both been pro-West and pro-America. Israel and Pakistan have both faced threats to their territorial sovereignty. The respective armies continue to play important political roles.
On June 5, 2003, Dr. Oded Eran, Israel's ambassador to the EU, said "India recognizes Israel, but our relations with India should not be misconstrued as hostility towards Pakistan ." Israel, according to Dr. Eran, intends not to take sides in the dispute between India and Pakistan.
The Hashemites of Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah have settled with Israel (the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace). Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah, Israel's immediate Arab neighbor, has signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah, Israel's other immediate Arab neighbor, has been in peace negotiations with Israel and has recently sought the renewal of such negotiations, reportedly without preconditions. Cairo is 264 miles from Jerusalem. Damascus is 136 miles from Jerusalem. Amman is 44 miles from Jerusalem. Cairo is at peace with Jerusalem. Damascus wants to talk to Jerusalem.
Islamabad is 2,198 miles away from Jerusalem. Why is Islamabad not at peace with Jerusalem?