President Donald Trump’s renewed call for countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Qatar to join the Abraham Accords has once again sparked speculation about whether Islamabad might be preparing to shift one of its longest-held foreign policy positions: its refusal to recognise Israel.

It is a familiar cycle. A high-profile diplomatic statement is made, rumours swirl, political commentators begin parsing possible signals, and Pakistan is suddenly portrayed as being on the verge of a major strategic recalibration.

But in this case, as in many before it, the reality is much simpler.

Pakistan will not join the Abraham Accords under the present conditions.

The reason is neither hidden nor ambiguous. Pakistan’s position on recognising Israel has been stated repeatedly, consistently, and publicly by successive governments: any normalisation of ties is contingent on the implementation of United Nations resolutions on Palestine, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and a return to the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

Those conditions remain unmet.

Indeed, they appear more distant today than at any point in recent memory.

That alone explains why Trump’s invitation—however diplomatically significant—will not result in Pakistan becoming part of the Abraham Accords.

When Trump first launched the accords during his previous presidency, they were hailed as a breakthrough in Middle Eastern........

© The Friday Times