Israeli President confirms meeting Pakistani expats

JERUSALEM: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has confirmed having a meeting with a delegation comprising Pakistani expatriates in Israel.

Speaking at World Economic Forum in Davos, the president of Israel said that he received a delegation of Pakistani expats, who live in the United States, a couple of weeks ago.

“They are proud Pakistanis, together of other countries in the region. I must say it was an amazing experience because we haven’t had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel ever in such scope. And all that stemmed from Abraham Accord, meaning Jews and Muslims can dwell together in the region,” he said.

🔴 Depuis le Forum économique de @Davos le Président de l’État d’Israël @Isaac_Herzog révèle s’être entretenu avec des délégations du Pakistan 🇵🇰 et d’autres délégations de pays musulmans de cette région. Israël n’entretient aucune relation diplomatique avec le Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/2kGpFuR5L6

— Jonathan Serero (@sererojonathan) May 25, 2022

Thank you @AmbDaniDayan for speaking to our historic American-Pakistani delegation at @yadvashem pic.twitter.com/tx07K41kJm

— Sharaka – شراكة (@sharakango) May 10, 2022

Herzog did not share the names of the members of the delegation. A picture of the incident showed journalist Ahmed Qureshi Pakistani Jew Fischel BenKhald as part of this delegation.

Pakistani-American politician and author Anila Ali was one of them as she shared a picture with Israeli president earlier this month.

“I’m honored to be the first Pakistani & American to present a book, an eyewitness account of the #Pakistan movement written by my father, Qutubuddin Aziz, to the President of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog. The president’s warmth & grace humbled me,” she captioned the photo on Twitter.

I’m honored to be the first Pakistani & American to present a book, an eyewitness account of the #Pakistan movement written by my father, Qutubuddin Aziz, to the President of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog. The president’s warmth & grace humbled me. @ammwecofficial @sharakango pic.twitter.com/TY6qe2xRYX

— Anila Ali (@anilaali) May 12, 2022

I stand near the #DomeoftheRock. Those who are using Islam to spread hate, empower terrorists. Arabs Israelis want peace. Allah loves peace. What’s your problem? @sharakango @ammwecofficial #Arab #Israeli #Palestinian pic.twitter.com/MtkX4zB821

— Anila Ali (@anilaali) May 14, 2022

According to an Israeli daily, a 15 member delegation led by two civil society groups visited Israel in order to promote interfaith harmony primarily between Muslims and Jews.

The trip was organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and by Sharaka, an NGO founded in the wake of the Abraham Accords for people-to-people normalization between Israel and Muslim-majority states.

Earlier, reports have emerged about secret visits of Pakistani officials to Israel, which is not recognized by Pakistan as a country due to its occupation on Palestinian territory.

Former national security advisor Moeed Yusuf and former prime minister Imran Khan’s aide Zulfi Bukhari had faced such allegations last year but both had strongly rejected the accusations.

Pakistan officially endorses the two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has maintained its longstanding position of non-recognition of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital city.