Israel–Pakistan relations

Israel–Pakistan relations refers to bilateral relations between Israel and Pakistan. Politically and historically, both states are established based on their ideological declarations (See Two-Nation Theory and Homeland for the Jewish people) in 1947 from British Empire. Despite many attempts to established the relations between these two ideological states were made, the diplomatic ties have not been established and as for instance many other Muslim countries, Pakistan refused not recognize Israel. However, the relations between Pakistan and Israel are highly complex and complicated, which leading Pakistan's political and military scientist dr. Ayescha Sideeka described the relations between two countries as "Love-Hate" relations.^[1]

On many occasions, both Pakistan and Israel used their Embassies at Istanbul to mediate or exchange information with each other, for instance, Pakistan used its Embassy in Istanbul to pass information on terror group to Israel in 2010. The 1980s saw the strong coordination between two countries when their intelligence agencies ran the Operation Cyclone against the Soviet Union and their war against the Afghan Mujahedin, based on their mutual distrust on "Communism". But the hostilities against each other are also widely reported with Israel labelling Pakistan "an antisemitic state" and Pakistan counter-labeling "Zionist and racist state". However in recent, both Israeli and Pakistani politicians have called for normalizing the relations which completely benefits both side of people.

Early contacts

An attempt to established diplomatic relationship with Pakistan and Israel was made in 1947, when Israel's first Prime minister Ben Gurion sent a telegram to Jinnah— Pakistan's founder.^[2] However, Jinnah did not act quickly, and sent no particular response to Israel. Later in 1949, Israel's Foreign Ministry believed it might be possible to open legations in Karachi, then the capital of Pakistan, or at least to conduct trade openly.^[3] Initial contact between the ambassador (High Commissioner) of Pakistan in London and representatives of Israel and Jewish organizations was made in early 1950.^[3] The Pakistani government was asked to issue passage permits to India for a few hundred Jews who had been forced to leave Afghanistan and wanted to emigrate to Israel.^[3] The Pakistan government refused to allow them to transit through Pakistan and the Jews left through Iran.^[3]

In 1952, Sir Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan's Foreign minister, promoted his hardline policies toward Israel, and pressed his policies toward the unity of Arab states.^[3] Thus, Khan's policy had worked to build strategic ties with Arab states. Furthermore, hardline policies against each other causes further political tensions.^[3]

Political tensions

Pakistan hostility towards Israel

During Israel's War of Independence (1947–1949), Israel's diplomatic mission in Washington received information that Pakistan was trying to provide military assistance to the Arabs, including rumors that a Pakistani battalion would be sent to Palestine to fight alongside them. Pakistan bought 250,000 rifles in Czechoslovakia that apparently were meant for the Arabs. Also, it became known that Pakistan bought three planes in Italy for the Egyptians.^[4] The Pakistan Air-Force in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars, Pakistani pilots flying Jordanian and Syrian planes downed some Israeli planes,whereas in the 1982 battle for Beirut between Israel and the PLO, fifty Pakistani volunteers serving in the PLO were taken prisoner by Israel. After the 1973 war, Pakistan and the PLO signed an agreement for training PLO officers in Pakistani military institutions.^[5]

According to Time, French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy, has even claimed that Daniel Pearl, an American-Israeli, was assassinated by elements with backing from Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence, (though there has been no verifiable evidence presented) over his alleged role in gathering information linking ISI and Al-Qaeda.^[6] According to other reports from BBC and Time, Pakistani militants beheaded him because of their belief that Daniel Pearl was an Israeli Mossad spy agent under the cover of being an American journalist.^[7][8]

In addition to these, Pakistan religious political parties and militant groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Lashkar-e-Taiba fiercely oppose any relationship with Israel, and have repeatedly called Israel as the enemy of Islam and Pakistan.^[9][10]

Pakistan forbids its citizens from going to Israel, and all Pakistani passports bear the inscription "This passport is valid for all countries of the World except Israel".^[11][12][13]

Israeli hostility towards Pakistan

During the Cold War, India maintained no diplomatic relations with Israel. India allied itself with the Arab states and the Soviet Union. India also voted in favor of a UN resolution in 1975 calling Zionism a racist policy. They only established small discreet contacts with Israel, like during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and 1971, India demanded Israel supply arms and ammunition.^[14] Pakistani requests for fresh weapons systems from the US are also fiercely resisted by Israeli, as well as Indian lobbyists.^[15] A former pro-Israeli Jewish Indian army officer, Lieutenant General J. F. R. Jacob is also celebrated in Israel for his role in the 1971 war against Pakistan.^[16]

In the 1980s, Israel planned a possible attack on Pakistan's bomb capacity. However, due to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, it became aware of a possible attack prior to any attack occurring. India was uncomfortable with the possibility of a nuclear fallout and corrupting relations with other Muslim states. Israeli aircraft were surprised by the presence of an alerted Pakistan Air Force fighter jets and therefore pulled back.^[17][18]

Pakistan-Israel intelligence alliance

Despite the hostilities against each other, both countries are reported to have directorates to deal with each other at an intelligence level.^[1] The history of Pakistan-Israel intelligence cooperation dated back to early 1980s, when Pakistan's President and Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq allowed ISI to established a secret directorate to deal with Israel's Mossad.^[19] Intelligence offices were sat up at both country's embassy located at Washington D.C. where Mossad and ISI, with CIA, ran a decade year long anti-soviet Operation, codename Operation Cyclone.^[20] Under this operation, Israel proliferated soviet made weapons to Mujaheddin, and some Israeli weapons to Pakistan Army.^[20]

Wikileaks, in a disclosed United States diplomatic cable revealed that ISI had secretly passed on intelligence data to Mossad. ISI had intercepted information that Israeli civilians may be targeted in a terrorist attack in India during September and November 2008 (following the 26th November Mumbai Terror Attacks that amongst its targets included a Jewish centre - the Nariman House).^[21] It was reported that Pakistan's Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha was in direct contact with Israel's Mossad.^[21][21]

Israel and Pakistan were both allied to the United States and the western bloc during the Cold War, while India was allied to the Soviet Union's bloc. India supported the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and supported the pro Soviet Afghan leader Mohammad Najibullah. Pakistan and Israel opposed the Soviet invasion, with Israel supplying arms to Pakistan to give to the mujahideen. Israel had captured the weapons from Palestinian groups like the PLO, who were supplied by the Soviets. Therefore, the Soviet made weaponsn which Israel stole and sent to Pakistan could not be traced back to America.^[22]

Normalisation of ties

Diplomatic

Some Israeli leaders believe that should diplomatic relations with Pakistan be established then Pakistan could serve as a bridge between Israel and the Muslim world, including Arab countries.^[23] Although the governments of Israel and Pakistan do not officially have relations with each other, there have been a number of contacts between the two states.^[24] According to the Jang news, there continue to be multiple media reports that in the past many powerful Pakistani personalities and figures have visited Israel.^[25]

Sporting ties

During the 2002 Wimbledon Open, Israeli tennis player Amir Hadad teamed up with Pakistani tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi to play in the 3rd round doubles. The Israeli and Pakistani team, with its bravely enlightened but controversial pairing of an Israeli and a Pakistani, made headline news.^[26]

Dan Kiesel a German-Israeli served as the Pakistan cricket team's trainer and physiotherapist, and lived openly with his Israeli identity in Lahore.^[27]

Zionism

Tashbih Sayyed was a well-known Pakistani Zionist who openly expressed his support of Israel in many of his columns and writings throughout his journalistic career.

Timeline

• In 1947, media reports the first contact between Pakistan and Israel were made in early days of Pakistan's independence, when Israeli Prime minister David Ben-Gurion sent a secret message by phone to the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah to recognize Israel when it declares independence, which happened in 1948. But Jinnah did not give any particular response to Israel.
• In 1949 Philippine Airlines became the only carrier to establish a direct air link between Karachi and Lod (Tel Aviv) as a sector on their Manila-London service,^[28] however it is not known whether they had traffic rights between the two, allowing passengers and cargo to be flown on the route.
• Initial contact between the ambassador (high commissioner) of Pakistan in London and representatives of Israel and Jewish organizations was made in early 1950, to open legations in Karachi, or at least to conduct trade openly.
• A meeting was took place in New York between Zafrullah Khan and Abba Eban, then Israel's ambassador to the United States, on 14 January 1953 to discuss Israeli-Pakistani relations.^[4]
• In the 1980s (1980-1988), during the Soviet-Afghan War, CIA along with MI5, Mossad and Pakistani-based intelligence ISI, ran a covert operation named Operation Cyclone in Afghanistan to remove the Soviets from the country. During the operation Israel and Pakistan also had high-level dealings through their intelligence agencies which included military dealings. Israel also supported Pakistan by providing Soviet weapons to Pakistan during 1980s.^[19]
• In 1981, after Israel's attack on Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactors in the 1980s, a similar plan to attack Pakistan's Kahuta Research facility by using Indian airfields was foiled, when the Pakistan Air Force got alerted beforehand, and took preventative measures^[29][30]
• In 1993, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, along with her then-Director-General of Military Operations, Pervez Musharraf, had intensified the ISI's liaison with Mossad in 1993. Bhutto is said to have had a secret meeting in New York with a senior Israeli emissary, who flew to the U.S. during her visit to Washington, D.C. in 1995.^[31]
• In 1998, Pakistan's conservative Prime minister Nawaz Sharif sent a secret courier to Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, assuring Israel that Pakistan will not transfer her nuclear technology to Iran to aide in their nuclear program despite Iran's Foreign minister had paid a visit.
• In 2001, Pakistan via ISI, passed intelligence about the Gulf States and the nuclear ambitions of Iran and Libya, whose programs Pakistani scientists had helped to build.^[31]
• In 2003, President Pervez Musharraf raised the issue of possible diplomatic relations with Israel,^[32]
• In 2005, the foreign ministers of the two countries held talks for the first time.^[33] However, following the meeting Musharraf said Pakistan will not recognise the state of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established,^[34] - although, according to Musharraf, Pakistan will eventually recognize Israel.^[35]
• In 2010, according to a unconfirmed "leaked" American diplomatic cables, from October 2009, head of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha provided intelligence on potential terrorist attacks in India to Israel through Washington. According to the cable, "He had been in direct touch with the Israelis on possible threats against Israeli targets in India". A few weeks before the cable was written, the Israeli Counter-Terror Bureau had issued a travel advisory warning of possible attacks against Israeli sites in India.^[36][37]

See also

• International recognition of Israel
• Pakistanis in Israel
• History of the Jews in Pakistan
• Pakistan–Palestine relations

Further reading

• P. R. Kumaraswamy, "Beyond the Veil: Israel-Pakistan Relations," Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, Memorandum no. 55, March 2000
• Moshe Yegar, "Pakistan and Israel," Jewish Political Studies Review 19:3-4 (Fall 2007)
• P. R. Kumaraswamy, "The Strangely Parallel Careers of Israel and Pakistan," Middle East Quarterly, June 1997, pp. 31-39
• Rashid Ahmad Khan, "Pakistan's Policy Towards Arab-Israel Conflict (1948-1973)," PhD thesis, University of Punjab, Feb 1991.
• Israel: Israel in the international arena By Efraim Karsh, Taylor & Francis, 2004, p 249-267.
• Paul Rockower, "Dancing in the Dark: Pulling the Veil off Israel-Pakistan Relations", Moshe Ma'oz (ed.), Sussex, 2010, p 186-214.

References