NEW YORK, MAY 30: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday ruled out any change in Pakistan’s longstanding policy towards Israel, saying that there could be no change in Islamabad’s stance towards Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

He made these remarks during a press conference at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington after a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He was responding to a question about US President Donald Trump urging Muslim states, including Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords as part of a deal with Iran and whether any discussion with Rubio was held on the matter.

“Pakistan remains steadfast in its position on Palestine and Gaza,” Dar said, adding that Israel “must move towards the establishment of a Palestinian state” before there could be any change in Pakistan’s stance towards Israel.

The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements brokered under Trump in 2020 and widely heralded as a foreign policy success. The Accords govern the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Israel and countries that have historically been hostile to it.

While they were welcomed in diplomatic circles as a step towards a more peaceful Middle East, they remain unpopular among the public in many parts of the region, not least because they do not tackle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Earlier on May 25, US President Donald Trump urged Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and beyond to normalise relations with Israel as part of the emerging Iran peace deal.

In a social media post, Trump listed countries whose leaders he spoke with on Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran.

“After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum, simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

“Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!)”

Rubio hails Pakistan’s peace efforts
Meanwhile, Rubio — after meeting DPM Dar — praised Pakistan’s efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.

He said he “thanked [DPM Dar] for the role Pakistan continues to play in advancing peace in the Middle East”.

“We agreed upon the importance of working together to further strengthen a meaningful partnership for better security and more prosperity for our two nations,” he wrote on his official X handle.

Addressing a press conference at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, DPM Dar said that the meeting with Rubio took place in a “cordial” atmosphere and was attended by Pakistan’s ambassador and other senior Foreign Office officials.

Pakistan played a role in facilitating ceasefires between the United States and Iran, he said, adding that Islamabad helped create conditions for direct engagement between the two countries.

Dar said that the first ceasefire between Washington and Tehran became possible due to Pakistan, adding that the latest truce was also achieved with Islamabad’s efforts.

He added that Pakistan had gained a “new identity on the global horizon” under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and COAS-CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Dar’s remarks come amid continued diplomatic engagement by Pakistan with regional and international stakeholders to help end the war in the Middle East.