Pakistan must do what's in its own best interest: Saleem Mandviwalla on potential ties with Israel.

PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla on Saturday commented on the potential of Pakistan having diplomatic ties with Israel, saying the country should do what is in its own best interest.

Pakistan does not recognise Israel and, therefore, doesn't have diplomatic relations with it. The country has been a staunch supporter of demands for a Palestinian state.

After the Abraham accords - a deal brokered by the US in 2020 which saw normalisation of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain - Pakistan had made clear that it cannot recognise Israel until a "just settlement of the Palestinian issue" is found.

However, in an exclusive interview with Dawn News, Mandviwalla, whose party is a part of the government, said: "We should not stop dialogue and trade with any country. People criticise Israel [but] we have to look after our own interests."

He said all the Middle East nations were negotiating and trading with Israel, adding that Pakistan must also do what suits its own interest.

"It remains to be seen whether a deal with Israel is in Pakistan's interest or not," Mandviwalla added.

Similarly, he indicated that the door for dialogue should not be closed on Pakistan's immediate neighbours, including India. "We have a border with India. Families live here. All three countries (India, Iran and Afghanistan) are important to us."

Last month, the revelation that a number of Pakistani expats and a couple of citizens recently travelled to Israel as part of a delegation sparked a controversy, with former prime minister Imran Khan and his party adding the incident into their narrative of a foreign conspiracy against the previous government, and alleging that the trip had their successors' tacit approval.

The issue was discussed at length in parliament as well as during press conferences and public meetings and portrayed as a political step by the government. The controversy was raised in the upper house of parliament by Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed who demaAnAdAAed that the nationality of those expatriates of Pakistani...