PM Imran’s adviser ‘secretly visited’ Israel with offer to start diplomatic ties, foreign media claims

An adviser of Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Tel Aviv in November on his British passport to relay an official message that proposed normalisation of ties between Pakistan and Israel in return for its support “to halt down Pakistan’s current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as to support it in many international issues”, claimed foreign media reports.

🇵🇰🇮🇱 — BREAKING: Sources tell Belaaz that a delegation from Pakistan, a country which has no ties with Israel, has secretly visited in Tel Aviv, Israel last month.

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) December 15, 2020

According to a global think-tank director, the visit took place in the last week of Nov. “The PM’s adviser [sent to Israel] lives in the UK and has also close relations with the Trump administration.”

(THREAD)

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗨𝗞 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲

It was a morning of the last week of Nov 20 at around 8am, a British Airways flight 𝗕𝗔0165 flew from London Heathrow airport to Tel Aviv. The person who booked a business class, travelled from Pak. pic.twitter.com/nbtGLXuJub

— Noor Dahri – نور ڈاہری ‎ 🇬🇧 (@dahrinoor2) December 15, 2020

According to the report, the unnamed adviser was welcomed by the Israeli officials at the airport as the visit was approved by the US. The adviser was escorted to the “foreign ministry of Israel where he met several political officials and diplomats and delivered the message of the Pakistani PM”, the reports claimed.

“He stayed a few days in Israel where he met with the director of Israeli intelligence Mossad Yossi Cohen and delivered a secret message of Pakistan army chief,” it went on to claim.

According to the reports that cite unnamed Israeli sources, Pakistan has sought the support of Israel to “halt down the current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as to support it in many international issues such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as Indian lobbying against Pakistan”.

“In return, Pak would start political ties at a slow place due to the fear of religious bloc within the country,” they claimed, adding that the offer was welcomed by the state of Israel.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has not responded to these reports yet. However, the FO has many times rejected the reports pertaining to the normalisation of ties with Israel as baseless.

Last month, the prime minister had told a journalist on TV that some Muslim states and the US were putting pressure on Pakistan to recognise Israel.