Pakistan maneuver on Israel opens way for new diplomacy

Emanuel Shahaf, Jerusalem

It has finally happened: Khurshid Kasuri, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, a fervently Muslim country not bordering on Israel, without a direct conflict with the latter and with little to gain directly, has met Israel's Foreign Minister Shalom in public in order to establish a relationship permitting a frank exchange of views.

The meeting in Istanbul, facilitated by the Turkish hosts, was held in express recognition of Israel's disengagement from the Gaza strip. The event is widely being hailed as a considerable diplomatic achievement and major breakthrough and correctly so. Early indications are that Pakistani opposition parties are fuming but not doing much beyond that and public demonstrations are sparsely attended.

What has caused this dramatic development ?

Pakistan needs the continued support of the U.S. and feels that Israel can put in a good word in Washington. There is considerable myth regarding Israel's pull in the U.S. capital but the Americans do reward policies of common sense, in particular when they favor a staunch ally like Israel.

The U.S. themselves and the Europeans too, may very well have prodded Pakistani President Musharraf towards Israeli-Pakistani rapprochement, for purely strategic reasons: It is nonsensical that in these times of major international challenges, central regional players like Pakistan and Israel do not have an open exchange of views.

Pakistan and Israel are both countries who have developed nuclear capabilities and medium range missiles to boot and it's probably not a bad idea that they talk. Pakistan is concerned about Israel's strategic engagement with India (after Indonesia, the country with the world's second largest Muslim population), an engagement whose economical part has contributed it's fair share to India's recent phenomenal growth -- why should Pakistan stand and watch by the sidelines as this relationship deepens ?

Pakistan wants to move into the right direction and join those countries that have become part of the globalizing forces, countries that are increasing their growth rates through international trade to the benefit of their population, countries that take a firm stand against terrorism. That surely warrants open discussion and a frank exchange of views even when those views differ, possibly a lot, over issues important to Muslims all over the world, like Palestine.

Pakistan's courageous move will make it so much harder for other Muslim countries to justify their refusal to engage Israel, at any level. The refusal to talk to Israel openly has not moved Israel any closer to an agreement with the Palestinians, if anything it has helped hardliners in Israel who are suspicious of Muslims, wherever they are.

Neither has the refusal to engage Israel contributed anything to those Muslim nations that still practice it or helped the Palestinians.

Pakistan has finally found the reason to do what has been right all along. Tunisia and Bahrain have indicated their intentions to do likewise soon. What is keeping Indonesia ?