“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.
A debate regarding establishing relations with the Jewish state of Israel has once again entered political discussions in the South Asian region. There are discussions as to how establishing strategic and diplomatic relations with Israel really does not pose any downsides, whereas the opposing side of the spectrum regards this as an unfavorable move ideologically and politically.
Several Arab countries have established diplomatic ties with Israel, which has maintained full diplomatic relations with two of its Arab neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, after signing peace treaties in 1979 and 1994 respectively. In 2020, the Trump administration oversaw the signing of agreements between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco. Given these facts, questions are being asked as to why, if Arab countries are moving ahead with the recognition of Israel, what is stopping Pakistan and Bangladesh from doing the same?
Pakistan
Pakistan finds itself in a complex and delicate situation. It is being pressured, notably from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to recognize Israel while simultaneously, since its inception, it has supported the rights of Palestinians. The essential question here is: are diplomatic ties with a nation whilst calling out its gross human rights violations mutually exclusive? The answer is no.
Pakistan has always objected to the gross human rights violations committed by India on Kashmir. This is the most consequential bone of contention between Pakistan and India and from all expert accounts, if the two nuclear armed countries ever launched a nuclear war, it would most likely be over Kashmir. Yet, they maintain diplomatic and trade ties. It would not be an invalid question to ask why Pakistan cannot maintain the same relationship with Israel?
The pressure exerted from some of the Arab countries to do exactly that is a concern, considering that since 1973, Pakistan have been receiving billions of dollars contributing to its GDP from workers in the oil rich Arab countries. As a developing economy, joining in an alliance with them and Israel and in the process, expanding trade could not be such a bad thing, right?
That is one way of looking at it.
The other, palpable, heart wrenching facet of it is human rights. True, Pakistan maintains diplomatic ties with India regardless of its authoritarian policies in Kashmir, violating even United Nations Security Council Resolution 47. But, India and Israel present two different situations.
Pakistan and India are neighbors, both with nuclear arsenal, they share a history, language and culture that dates back centuries. An outright freeze of diplomatic ties with India would destabilize the entire region of South Asia and present perils which could result in global disaster.
India is the tormentor to Kashmiris in Kashmir. Not that this fact makes matters any less grave but it does present a different set of problems when a country blatantly practices segregation, nothing less than the infamous apartheid in South Africa until 1991, as does Israel to the Palestinians. Palestinian residential and farm lands are shrinking daily due to the illegal expansion of Israeli occupation. There are also daily arrests, torture committed by Israeli forces on the Palestinians. All this happens with the blessings of the United States, which alone gives almost $4 billion in military aid to Israel per year and $8 billion of loan guarantees. Add to this aid from Europe and now Arab countries, for a nation carved out of Arab lands only in 1948, a nation which has become a prime human rights abuser.
In light of this and despite this, should Pakistan establish diplomatic ties with Israel? With China’s friendship, backing and massive infrastructure projects in Pakistan, does it really need to legitimize Israel at the behest of Arab countries and at the expense of Palestinian blood?
Bangladesh
Israel was one of the first nations to recognize Bangladesh after its independence in 1971. However, Bangladesh has not returned the favor. Like with Pakistani passports, the Bangladeshi passport specifically states that it is valid for all countries except Israel.
Historically, the first President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known as The Father of the Nation, was very vocal about the rights of Palestinians. It is one of the few nations which still maintains its position as a strong proponent of Palestinian rights, regardless of any external pressure which may be exerted to change its course with relation to Israel by the Arab counties.
Furthermore, Bangladesh has not forgotten that it was Israeli arms and military technology sales to Myanmar which were used against the Rohingya people of Rakhine state, creating another enormous global human rights crisis. Since 2017, more than one million Rohigyas have fled torture and persecution by the Myanmar army into Bangladesh. The country now struggles with Rohingya refugees who are left in limbo due to a colossal human rights crisis aided by Israel. Will the Bangladesh government, despite Israel’s dismal human rights abuses on Muslims normalize relations with it? It is highly doubtful.
In essence, the question is: if everyone turns their backs on the Palestinians, what will become of them? And the Kashmiris? And the Rohingyas? And the Yemenis? Should human rights abuses merely for being Muslim be normalized by the west and even Muslim majority countries?
*The writer is the Editor-in-Chief of Aequitas Review.
January 23, 2021
