A Pakistani minister said that joining the Abraham Accords, as “mandatorily requested” by United States President Donald Trump as part of a proposed peace deal with Iran, would go against Islamabad’s “fundamental ideologies,” according to Pakistani news channel Samaa TV.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, speaking to Samaa TV, was asked whether Pakistan would consider joining the Abraham Accords amid what was described as ongoing pressure from US President Donald Trump.
In an interview with the media outlet, Asif said, “Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies.”
Questioning the possibility of engagement with Israel, Pak defence minister said, “How could Pakistan sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?”
When asked whether the US State Department had approached the Pakistani government, Asif said, “We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us.”
During the interview, he also mentioned that the Pakistan is the only country who passports do not even include Israel’s name.
A clip of the interview is circulating on social media. However, Zee News could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
What are the Abraham Accords?
The Abraham Accords are a series of historic normalization agreements signed in 2020 between Israel and several Arab nations, brokered by the United States.
The first agreements were signed on September 15, 2020, at the White House between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain. Later, Sudan and Morocco also joined.
The accords focus on peace, economic cooperation, technology, tourism, and security, bypassing the traditional Israeli-Palestinian conflict issue.
US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Pakistan and several other West Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey to join the Abraham Accords and formally recognise Israel as part of a broader diplomatic effort to end the US-Iran conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it should be “mandatory” for countries to join the accords. However, the proposal is expected to face opposition from countries such as Pakistan, which has long resisted normalisation with Israel.
Trump’s comments came after discussions with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain. He said that broader participation in the Abraham Accords could help bring “true Power, Strength, and Peace to the Middle East for the first time in 5,000 years.”
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would otherwise be,” Trump wrote.
