Saudi Arabia is pressuring Pakistan to recognize Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday quoting a Pakistani journalist.
The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday:
Prominent Pakistani journalist Mubasher Lucman believes that Saudi Arabia is one of the countries pressuring Islamabad into recognizing Israel, he said in an interview with an Israeli TV network, i24 News.
Lucman's statement follows Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement that Islamabad has been placed "under pressure" by the United States, and other unnamed countries, to recognize Israel.
"I have no doubt that in my analysis that the other country he is talking about is Saudi Arabia, and no one else," Lucman told the i24 presenter. "There are only four countries that could have said this: One is the United States, second is Israel, third is India and fourth is Saudi Arabia. There is no fifth country that has that kind of influence over [Pakistan]."
Here are more excerpts from Lucman's interview:
Lucman further notes the complex geopolitical situation of the region, as well as its evolution over the years - where Pakistan is facing pressure to and has aligned with "questionable" countries such as China, Iran, Turkey and Malaysia, among others - which on its own has caused turmoil between Riyadh and Islamabad.
Lucman said that Saudi Arabia has always looked at Pakistan as its "subordinate" country, but "this time things are changing, the global geopolitical situation is changing, the politics of the region are changing, the influences are changing. So Saudi Arabia alone is not the only influencer in Pakistan."
However, the transition of the geopolitical has not just added to the complexity, it's also seemed to have opened opportunities for Pakistan who have been extended an olive branch by the US, requesting Islamabad to recognize Israel in return for Washington's favor.
The Pakistani premier's original comments were reported by the Turkish Anadolu Agency and published in Pakistan's The Express Tribune, stating that the Muslim-dominated country has received numerous appeals from other nations to recognize Israel as a state, without going into much detail about which countries were applying the pressure - besides the usual suspect being the US.
"The pressure is because of Israel's deep impact in the US. This was in fact extraordinary during Trump's stint," he said, according to the report.
Khan noted, however, he has "no second thought to recognize Israel unless there is a just settlement, which satisfies Palestinians," adding that the stance is motivated by the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who had refused pressure of the like in the past.
Khan refused to name the countries that have been pressuring him
On Monday, the Jerusalem Post reported that Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is pressured to recognize Israel.
Pakistan faced pressure from another country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said over the weekend, the Post said quoting a Pakistani TV interview:
"I have no second thoughts about [not] recognizing Israel unless there is a just settlement that satisfies Palestinians."
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