Pakistan minister said that joining the Abraham Accords, as ‘mandatorily requested’ by United States President Donald Trump for peace deal with Iran, would be against Islamabad’s “fundamental ideologies,” Pakistani news channel Samaa TV reported.
Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, while speaking to Samaa TV, was asked whether Pakistan would join the Abraham Accords amid what was described as continued pressure from US President Donald Trump.
“Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies,” Asif said during the interview.
The Pakistani defence minister also questioned the possibility of engagement with Israel, saying, “How could Pakistan sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?”
When asked whether Pakistan’s government had been approached by the US State Department, Asif said, “We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us.”
He added that Pakistan is the only country whose passports do not even include Israel’s name.
A clip of the interview is doind rounds on social media. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
What are the Abraham Accords?
The Abraham Accords, first pushed by Trump in 2020, are designed to normalise diplomatic, economic and security relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
Trump on Monday urged Pakistan and West Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan, to join the Abraham Accords and formally recognise Israel as part of a broader diplomatic effort to end the US-Iran conflict.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were the first to sign, followed by Morocco and Sudan in 2020.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it should be “mandatory” for countries to sign on to the accords. The proposal, however, is likely to face resistance in countries such as Pakistan, which has long opposed normalisation with Israel.
Trump’s remarks came after talks with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain. He argued that wider participation in the Abraham Accords could help bring “true Power, Strength, and Peace to the Middle East for the first time in 5,000 years.”
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would otherwise be,” Trump wrote.
Why does Pakistan not recognise Israel?
Pakistan has consistently maintained that recognition of Israel is contingent on the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. Over its 78-year history, Pakistan has never recognised Israel, a position tracing back to founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s explicit rejection of the UN partition of Palestine in 1947–48.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar had also denied joining the Abraham Accords earlier, saying, “We are not ready to recognise Israel until the two-state solution to the Palestine conflict is accepted. There is no change in our stated policy on the Palestine issue. Let it be clear to everyone that our seven-decades-long policy remains unchanged.”
His comments came after army chief Munir’s White House visit a few months ago.
In January this year, after Pakistan became one of the most prominent members of Trump’s Board of Peace for a Gaza truce, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi clarified, saying, “It is a misconception that joining the Board of Peace is in any way connected to any Abraham Accords or any side draft to this issue. Pakistan’s position remains unchanged and we will not become a party to the Abraham Accord.”
