Akshay DidwaniyaPakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif firmly rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for Islamabad to join the Abraham Accords saying it clashes with Pakistan’s “fundamental ideologies” and adding that Israel simply cannot be trusted.
Pakistan Draws a Hard Line on Abraham Accords
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif made his government’s stance crystal clear on Monday Islamabad will not join the Abraham Accords. Speaking on a live talk show on Pakistani broadcaster Samaa TV, Asif left little room for ambiguity. “Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord which clashes with our fundamental ideologies,” he said. His words landed like a direct rebuff to US President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic push.
The statement came just hours after Trump on his Truth Social platform called on several Muslim-majority nations to sign the Abraham Accords. He framed it as part of a bigger peace package tied to ongoing negotiations with Iran. Trump named Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain as countries he expected to sign on simultaneously. He called the proposed arrangement a potential “Historic Event” for the Middle East.
“Their Word Cannot Be Trusted for Even a Single Day”
Asif didn’t stop at ideology he went further and questioned Israel’s credibility altogether. “How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?” he asked pointedly during the interview. He then repeated Pakistan’s long-standing position in no uncertain terms: “We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us.”
The minister also pointed to a striking detail about Pakistani passports. Pakistan remains one of the only countries in the world whose passports do not list Israel as a valid travel destination a silent but powerful symbol of its decades-long refusal to recognise the Jewish state.
75 Years of Consistent Policy on Palestine
Pakistan’s refusal to join the Abraham Accords is not a sudden reaction. For over 75 years, Islamabad has backed the Palestinian cause and rejected any formal recognition of Israel. The country’s position has stayed consistent: recognition will only come if an independent Palestinian state is set up on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This stance stretches all the way back to Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who opposed the 1947 partition plan for Palestine. Successive governments civilian and military alike have maintained this same line. Even recently, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed that there would be “no change” in Pakistan’s policy without a two-state solution.
Pakistan’s Role as a Mediator Now Complicated
What makes this moment particularly delicate is that Pakistan has been playing a key mediation role between the US and Iran. It reportedly helped broker a temporary two-week ceasefire and is expected to host further peace talks in the coming days. Trump himself acknowledged this, noting on Truth Social that negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely.”
However, Asif’s blunt comments have cast a shadow over that diplomatic role. He also pointed to ongoing violence in the region alleging continued Israeli military actions in Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon. While he clarified his remarks were personal in nature, the Pakistani government has not issued any official statement distancing itself from his words.
Trump’s Abraham Accords Expansion Hitting a Wall
Trump’s original Abraham Accords brokered during his first term in 2020 brought the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco into diplomatic normalisation with Israel. The UAE and Bahrain are already members among the current Iran negotiating nations. But bringing in Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and others is proving to be a far more complicated ask.
Journalist Kamran Yusuf told the BBC that Pakistan is unlikely to shift its policy. “Though Pakistan is playing a mediating role between Iran and the United States and currently has good relations with President Trump, this does not mean it will change its policy towards Israel,” he said. Trump himself reportedly acknowledged in his Truth Social post that one or two countries might choose not to join, and that would be acceptable.
Asif Has Called Israel a “Curse for Humanity” Before
This is not the first time Khawaja Asif has taken a hardline stance on Israel. Just last month, he publicly called Israel a “curse for humanity” and accused it of carrying out genocide in the region. His latest comments build on that record. For now, Pakistan’s position remains firm the Abraham Accords are, in Islamabad’s own words, simply “not acceptable.”
Aditya Didwaniya
Pratik Agrawal
Mayur Mohta