Israeli president confirms meeting delegation of Pakistani expats

Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed that two weeks ago a delegation from South Asia met with him in Israel and that the delegation included two Pakistani American citizens.

According to the International News Agency, during the talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Israeli president confirmed meeting with a Pakistani delegation but did not reveal the identities of the members of the delegation.

Herzog maintained that the two Pakistani nationals were permanently residing in the United States but were “proud Pakistanis”.

He further stated that the meeting with the Pakistani delegation was “very welcome” and that he was pleasantly surprised because no Pakistani delegation had ever visited Israel before.

Earlier, Anila Ahmed, a Pakistani-American, shared a photograph on Twitter of her meeting the Israeli president on May 12. In the photograph, she is presenting a book written by her father Qutbuddin Ahmed on Tehreek-e-Pakistan and Quaid-e-Azam to the Israeli president.

Anila Ahmed is a politician, author and teacher and is reputed for her social work in the United States.

Her tweet suggests she was part of the delegation that met with the Israeli president.

Although it was not immediately clear who was part of the Pakistani delegation, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari criticised the inclusion of Pakistan Television (PTV) anchor Waqar Qureshi in the delegation and claimed that it was “shocking” to see him as he worked for a “state institution” of “sensitive nature”.

In response, Qureshi also took to Twitter and stated that Mazari’s former boss, ex-foreign minister Raza Kasuri had held the first “official” Pakistan-Israel meeting in Turkey, “after which Israel waived important license requirements for Pakistan”.

Qureshi further alleged that Mazari had “saved her job by not objecting”.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Arslan Khalid also took to Twitter to state that the Israeli president had confirmed a meeting with a Pakistani delegation.

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He questioned which country’s orders had led to the betrayal of Pakistan’s ideology and its founder's ideology regarding the Muslims of Palestine.

“It would not have been possible under Imran Khan as the prime minister, so he was removed. Sharif, Zardari and Fazlur Rehman are all part of this plan”.

'Govt does not recognise Israel'

Replying to Arslan’s tweet, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal claimed that no official or semi-official delegation from Pakistan had visited Israel.

“The participants in this delegation were Pakistani-Americans who have already explained themselves,” he stated.

Ahsan Iqbal reiterated that the government’s policy on Israel was clear; it did not recognise the state of Israel.

He also extended his sympathy to the Palestinian people.