AMMAN — “It would not be possible” for Pakistan to normalize relations with Israel “without first, the people of Palestine making that decision”, Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said during a press conference on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York.

 

This was in response to a question about the many pressures on Islamic countries for normalizing with the occupation, and the possibility of Pakistan following other countries that have done so, Al-Ghad News reported.

 

“Our country is clear, our history is clear, our people are clear,” Zardari said. “We pride ourselves that our passport never recognized an apartheid state.”

 

‘One apartheid state’ in the world

When South Africa was an apartheid state, “our passports used to say that our passports are valid for all countries except South Africa and Israel,” he continued.

 

“Today, there is one apartheid state left in the world, and Pakistan does not recognize it.”

 

The press conference was held to discuss the outcome of the Women in Islam Conference and the Commemoration of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, according to the UN Media website.