'Not acceptable to us': Pakistan shoots down Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords call

Pakistan connected Monday firmly rejected the anticipation of joining the Abraham Accords aft US President Donald Trump called connected respective Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, to normalise ties with Israel arsenic portion of a broader determination statement linked to ongoing negotiations with Iran.Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad would not enactment immoderate statement that contradicted the country’s “fundamental ideologies” and reiterated Pakistan’s long-standing refusal to recognise Israel without the constitution of a Palestinian state.“Personally, I don't deliberation we should articulation immoderate specified accord that clashes with our cardinal ideologies,” Asif said during an interrogation with Pakistani broadcaster Samaa TV.Questioning the credibility of engagement with Israel, helium added, “How volition you beryllium down with those radical whose connection cannot beryllium trusted adjacent for a azygous day?”Reiterating Pakistan’s authoritative position, the Defence Minister said: “We person a precise wide stance that this is not acceptable to us.”Asif besides referred to Pakistan’s passport argumentation regarding Israel and said, “And secondly, connected our passports, we are the lone state whose passports don't adjacent see Israel's name.”

The remarks came hours aft Trump pushed for an enlargement of the Abraham Accords arsenic portion of a wider diplomatic colony tied to a imaginable US-Iran agreement.In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump said negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely” and urged countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to articulation the accords.“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It volition lone beryllium a Great Deal for each or, nary Deal astatine all,” Trump wrote, informing that nonaccomplishment to scope an statement could mean “Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before.”Trump said Saudi Arabia and Qatar should instantly articulation the accords aft a woody with Iran and suggested that Tehran itself could yet go portion of the model if negotiations succeeded.According to Trump, the Abraham Accords had delivered a “Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM” to existing signatories, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kazakhstan.“The Abraham Accords person been large for them, and volition beryllium adjacent amended for everybody, and bring existent Power, Strength, and Peace to the Middle East,” helium wrote.Trump besides claimed helium had discussed the connection with respective determination leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.Calling the projected statement perchance “the astir important Deal” successful the region’s history, Trump said helium had instructed his representatives to statesman expanding the accords to much nations.Pakistan, however, maintained that its presumption connected Israel remained unchanged and tied immoderate imaginable designation to the instauration of an autarkic Palestinian authorities based connected pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem arsenic its capital.Asif, 1 of Pakistan’s strongest critics of Israel, has antecedently accused Israel of carrying retired “genocide” successful the portion and described the state arsenic a “curse for humanity.”