The prospect of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords has long intrigued policymakers in Washington and parts of the Middle East. Yet such speculation often overlooks a fundamental reality: Pakistan’s opposition to recognizing Israel is not merely a matter of foreign policy. It is deeply intertwined with the country’s national identity, political culture, and conception of its place within the Muslim world.

Recent calls from President Donald Trump for Muslim-majority states involved in regional diplomacy—including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan—to join the Abraham Accords have once again placed the issue in the spotlight. For Islamabad, however, the obstacles to normalization extend far beyond diplomacy. They touch the ideological foundations of the Pakistani state itself.

A Foundational Commitment

Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has defined itself as a homeland for South Asia’s Muslims. That identity has fostered a strong sense of solidarity with causes perceived as central to the broader Islamic world, none more important than the Palestinian question.

As a result, support for Palestinian statehood has become a core element of Pakistan’s political consensus. Successive governments—civilian and military alike—have maintained that recognition of Israel can occur only after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. This position has endured through changes in leadership, geopolitical realignments, and shifting regional alliances.

For many Pakistanis, therefore, the issue is not simply whether to establish diplomatic relations with another country. It is whether doing so would compromise a principle that has shaped the nation’s political identity for........

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