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Israel cautious over Pakistan's
overtures
By Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM - When Pakistan President General
Pervez Musharraf declared last month that the time had
come for his country to consider diplomatic relations
with Israel, it caused only a minor stir among the
Israeli public and in the media. The focus then was on
the Palestinians and whether they would halt their
intifada.
Some officials also dismissed the
comment, made on the eve of Musharraf's trip to the
United States, as an attempt by the Pakistan leader to
smooth his meeting with President George W Bush. "The
Pakistanis attribute a lot of power to the American
Jewish lobby, often greater than it is in reality," said
one Israeli observer.
But then Musharraf came
home and repeated his call, with even greater gusto. "I
have said again and again: do we have to be more
Catholic than the Pope or more Palestinian than the
Palestinians themselves?" he asked in an interview with
the private Geo Television in Pakistan. "Is that the
correct attitude? Or should we make a change? We must
reach a national consensus on the subject, rather than
leaving it to the emotionalism of the extremists."
Now some in Israel are pointing to the very
public nature of Musharraf's remarks - and the fact that
he reiterated them - as a sign of change. There has
already been a quiet, hesitant, dialogue between Israeli
and Pakistani diplomats since the 1980s. Military
officials from the two sides have met at advanced study
centers around the world.
"What is new is the
fact that Musharraf made these comments publicly," said
Professor Yaacov Vertzberger, an expert in international
relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
At the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the tone is
understated. "We have no diplomatic or border problems
with Pakistan," the ministry's deputy director-general
Zvi Gabay said. "We have no reason for any hostility. We
would be happy to have relations with Pakistan."
Vertzberger says that Musharraf's willingness to
go public on the controversial issue of ties with Israel
is a sign that a strategic decision has been made by the
Pakistan leadership. "Musharraf must have the backing of
the senior military echelon on this," he says. "He
wouldn't have made the remarks otherwise. Now it's a
matter of time and timing [until relations are
established]."
Relations with Pakistan are
important for Israel. Pakistan is one of the most
populous Muslim countries, and establishing ties could
soften enmity towards the Jewish state in other Muslim
countries. Israeli officials also believe that relations
with Pakistan could set off a chain reaction in the
region, with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and
Bangladesh following suit.
In the past, Israel's
interest - or fear - has often focused on the fact that
Pakistan is the only Muslim country with a nuclear
capability. Israeli leaders were concerned that weapons
or technology might find their way into Arab countries.
Israel watched with consternation when Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi helped fund Pakistan's nuclear program
in the 1970s.
A key factor propelling the
present leadership in Pakistan is the growing strategic
relationship between the Jewish state and India. Israel
has become a major arms supplier to India. In late May,
it was reported that the US had lifted its objection to
Israel selling its Phalcon airborne radar system to
India in a billion-dollar deal. The radar, which is
mounted on a cargo plane, will significantly extend the
range of the Indian air force.
India is also
said to have expressed interest in the Arrow, a defense
system developed by Israel against ballistic missiles.
"Israel does not view its relationship with India as a
step against Pakistan, and proceeds very cautiously in
this sphere," Ze'ev Schiff, defense editor of the daily
Haaretz newspaper said in a recent comment.
But
Israel is aware that Pakistan is concerned over its
strategic ties with India. "What worries leaders in
Pakistan is that India's relationship with Israel has
given it a type of strategic edge," says Vertzberger.
"There have even been press reports [in Pakistan] that
Israel is going to help India undermine Pakistan's
nuclear capability. These are baseless."
Some in
Israel suggest Musharraf's comments might have been
meant to gauge the reaction of the Muslim opposition in
his country to such a move. Vertzberger believes that
the Pakistan leader could not have raised the issue last
year straight "after the success of the fundamentalist
parties in elections".
But with progress now on
a new diplomatic initiative aimed at settling the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has always been at
the heart of Pakistan's refusal to normalize ties with
Israel, it is easier for Musharraf to publicly broach
the issue.
It was in this context that he asked
why his country needed to be "more Palestinian than the
Palestinians themselves". The message was clear: if the
Palestinian leadership was talking to Israel, so can
Pakistan.
Vertzberger believes that full
Israel-Pakistan relations are a matter of time. But he
believes that the way Israel conducts itself will have
an impact on whether they come about sooner or later.
"If Israel hugs Musharraf too tightly, that will not be
good," he says. "But not to react at all to his
statements is also not a good thing. There should be a
reaction, but not one that draws too much attention."
(Inter Press Service)
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