The

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have never had formal diplomatic relations. In 1947, Pakistan voted against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, and does not recognize Israeli sovereignty. Despite the Pakistani position on the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

, there have been multiple instances of close cooperation, such as during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

and the Black September conflict. Pakistan supports the Palestinian Arabs and endorses the two-state solution. Pakistan says it will not normalize relations with Israel until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital. Nevertheless, with

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

serving as middleman, Israel and Pakistan have used their embassies and consulates-general in the cities of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to communicate and exchange necessary information. In 2010, the Pakistani newspaper '' Dawn'' reported that Pakistan's

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...

, following up on reports received in Washington, had gone through Ankara to pass on information to Israel's Mossad about an upcoming terrorist attack in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where a Jewish cultural centre was listed as a major target; this information first surfaced on

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

one year after the 2008 Mumbai attacks were carried out by

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...

, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization. In 2018, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while on an official visit to India, stated that Israel is not an enemy of Pakistan and that Pakistan "should not behave like an enemy" towards Israel. Following the success of the Abraham Accords in 2020, erstwhile Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan disclosed that the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and "at least one other country" had been urging his administration to normalize ties with Israel. He did not reveal the countries' names and did not say whether or not they were from the

Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

, but explained that "the pressure is because of Israel's deep impact in the United States," and that "Israel’s lobby is the most powerful, and that’s why America’s whole Middle East policy is controlled by Israel." Khan's administration later reiterated that Pakistan would not establish any official bilateral relationship with Israel until a "viable, independent, and contiguous" country is created for and accepted by the Palestinians.

Background

Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal put the Palestine issue on top of agenda and opined that 'Balfour Declaration was unjust'. On October 12, 1945, Muhammad Ali Jinnah said,

History

Following the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948,

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

attempted to contact Muhammad Ali Jinnah via a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

to establish diplomatic ties, but received no particular response. By 1949, Israel's Foreign Ministry believed that it was possible to open an Israeli

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

in the Karachi Federal Capital Territory of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, or to begin conducting trade openly. Initial contact between Pakistani diplomats in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and representatives of Israel along with various

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

organizations was made in early 1950. The Pakistani government was asked to issue passage permits to

for a few hundred Jews who wished to leave

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and emigrate to Israel. The government rejected the request and the Afghan Jews left through

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1952, Pakistani

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Muhammad Zafarullah Khan promoted hardline state policies against Israel, and advocated for Pakistan's unwavering support for the Palestinians in the

. Thus, Khan's policy laid the groundwork for Pakistan's strategic ties with the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

Political tension

Pakistani attitudes towards Israel

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

in Washington received information that

was trying to provide military assistance to the Palestinians alongside rumours that a Pakistani military

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

would be sent to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

to fight the Israelis. Pakistan had apparently bought 250,000 rifles in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

that were meant for the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

, and a later discovery revealed that Pakistan had bought three military-grade aircraft in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ians.Moshe Yegar, "Pakistan and Israel", ''Jewish Political Studies Review'' 19:3–4 (Fall 2007) The Pakistan Air Force sent a group of its

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

s to engage the Israelis in combat during the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, greatly bolstering the Palestinians who were suffering repeated defeats to the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. A Pakistani fighter pilot, Saiful Azam, had shot down at least four Israeli fighter planes during the Six-Day War. After the Yom Kippur War,

and the PLO signed an agreement for training PLO officers in Pakistani military institutions.Mushahid Hussain, "How Pakistan Views Israel and the Palestinians", ''Middle East International'', September 1988, 21; P. R. Kumaraswamy, ''Beyond the Veil: Israel–Pakistan Relations'' (Tel Aviv: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, 2000), 34 During the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War, irregular Pakistani volunteers served in the PLO and 50 were taken prisoner during the Siege of Beirut. The relationship between Pakistan and Israel continued to be ridden with hostilities following these direct engagements, and when Mossad was unable to stop Pakistan's nuclear weapons program from making major developments, a plan to bomb Pakistani nuclear facilities in a similar fashion to Operation Opera was authorized. Israel subsequently made contact with

in an effort to gain support and secure a launching point for Israel's aircraft. However, India refused to allow Israeli aircraft to station on its soil, whereas Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency had discovered the plan and prepared suicidal one-way retaliatory measures to bomb strategic sites in Israel.India Thwarts Israeli Destruction of Pakistan's "Islamic Bomb", McNair Paper Number 41, Radical Responses to Radical Regimes: Evaluating Preemptive Counter-Proliferation, May 1995 According to '' Time Magazine'', French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy said that Daniel Pearl, a

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

journalist, was assassinated by elements with backing from Pakistan's ISI over his alleged role in attempting to gather information linking a continued relationship between the ISI and the Taliban. According to other reports from ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' and ''Time'', Pakistani militants murdered him because of their belief that Pearl was an Israeli Mossad agent who had infiltrated Pakistan under the cover of being an American journalist. Pakistani passport not valid for Israel

Pakistan's religiously-oriented political parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami and militant groups such as

fiercely oppose any relationship with Israel, and have repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel due to its standing as an alleged sworn enemy of Pakistan. Currently, as Pakistan refuses to recognize Israel until a viable solution is reached with Palestine, all Pakistani citizens are unable to travel to Israel, with Pakistani passports bearing an inscription outlining the invalidity of the passport for this purpose. Tashbih Sayyed was a well-known Pakistani-American scholar and Zionist who openly expressed his support for relations between Israel and Pakistan in many of his columns and writings throughout his journalistic career.

Israeli attitudes towards Pakistan

In the 1980s, Israel was said to have planned, with or without Indian assistance, a possible attack on Pakistan's nuclear facilities that would be reminiscent of the Israeli attack previously carried out on an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. Using satellite imagery and intelligence information, Israel reportedly built a full-scale mock-up of the Kahuta nuclear facility in the Negev desert region where Israeli pilots in

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

and F-15 squadrons practiced mock attacks. According to '' The Asian Age'', British journalists Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark stated in their book ''Deception: Pakistan, the US and the Global Weapons Conspiracy'' that the Israeli Air Force was to launch an air attack on Pakistan's nuclear facility in Kahuta sometime during the mid-1980s from an airfield in Jamnagar,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. The book claims that "in March 1984,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Indira Gandhi signed off (on) the Israeli-led operation bringing India, Pakistan and Israel to within a hair's breadth of a nuclear conflagration". Israel's plan met with disapproval from some Indian officials on the grounds that Israel would not face any major consequences after the strike while India would surely face full-scale retaliation—possibly nuclear—from Pakistan for its involvement in the Israeli attack. The plan was discouraged out of the fear of a fourth Indo-Pakistani war starting as a consequence of this operation, and was shelved indefinitely after Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984. A paper published in the U.S. Air Force Air University system—''India Thwarts Israeli Destruction of Pakistan's "Islamic Bomb"''—also confirmed this plan's existence. It stated that "Israeli interest in destroying Pakistan's Kahuta reactor to scuttle the '

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic bomb' was blocked by India's refusal to grant landing and refuelling rights to Israeli warplanes in 1982." India's refusal to cooperate forced Israel—which on its part wanted the attack to be a joint Indian-Israeli strike to avoid being held solely responsible—to drop the plan. In October 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his booking at a dine-in hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, due to the fact that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was dining in at the same time to avoid a confrontation over what Sharif stated to be "Israel's naked brutality in Palestine". In October 2019, Israeli-American travel vlogger and internet personality Alyne Tamir visited Pakistan for the first time. She had applied for a visa alongside her Arab-Israeli fiancé Naseir Yassin (of " Nas Daily" fame) earlier though it had been rejected, presumably due to their Israeli nationality.

Intelligence cooperation

Despite their hostilities, both countries are reported to have directorates to deal with each other at an intelligence level. The history of

i–

i intelligence cooperation dates back to at least the early 1980s, when Pakistani President

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

directed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to establish contact with Israel's Mossad.''Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times'', by George Crile, Grove Press, 2007, Chapter 10. Intelligence offices were set up at both countries' embassies in Washington, where the ISI, MI6, CIA and Mossad ran a decade-long anti-

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

operation in

, codenamed Operation Cyclone., mirrored at During this operation, Israel supplied Soviet-made weaponry (seized from Palestinian militants) to the Afghan mujahideen, who were waging

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

against the Soviet military following its invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan and Israel cooperated very closely during the entirety of the conflict and the Pakistani military—which was covertly engaging Soviet aircraft (by posing as an Afghan rebel force) and providing the mujahideen with funds and weapons—received a generous amount of Israeli armaments and aid as a result.

, in a disclosed

diplomatic cable, revealed that around early 2008, Pakistan's ISI had secretly passed on vital intelligence and data to Israel's Mossad. The ISI had intercepted information alluding to a possible major attack by terrorists in

that Israeli citizens may be targeted in. This turned out to be a valid report as on 26 November 2008, the notorious Mumbai terrorist attacks were carried out by

, a terrorist group which had, among other targets, attacked a

centre known as the Nariman House. Following these attacks, It was reported that Pakistani

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Ahmad Shuja Pasha was in direct contact with Israel's Mossad. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, Israel was part of the United States-led Western Bloc to which non-aligned Pakistan was allied, whereas non-aligned India was allied to the Soviet Union-led

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

. Consequently, India supported the Soviets in Afghanistan as well as the pro-Soviet Afghan leader

Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996) was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as the second president of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after the Afghan mujahideen' ...

. American-allied Pakistan and Israel strongly opposed the Soviet invasion, and Israel and the United States ran arms and funds to and through Pakistan in support of the Afghan mujahideen. Israel had captured the Soviet armaments from Palestinian and other Arab groups (who were all supported by the Soviet Union) from previous conflicts.

Normalization of ties

Discussions on Diplomatic ties

Some Israeli leaders believe that diplomatic relations with

should be established as the latter could possibly serve as a bridge or mediator between

and the

, including the Arab states. Although the governments of Israel and Pakistan do not officially have diplomatic relations with each other, there have been a number of instances of close contact and cooperation between the two states. According to the Pakistani news outlet '' Daily Jang'', there are continuous reports that many top Pakistani leaders and representatives have visited Israel. Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Kasuri supported the establishment of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Israel. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has openly spoken for the immediate pursuit of close diplomatic relations with Israel as soon as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reaches a viable solution. He expressed that Pakistan will full-heartedly recognize Israel and come forward for open relations when a two-state solution that gives equal opportunities to the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

and Israelis is achieved and peace is restored. He is the first

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

to be interviewed by American-Israeli ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' writer Danna Harman in

. In 2016, a Pakistani Ph.D. scholar and writer, Malik Shah Rukh, started th
Israel–Pakistan Friendship Group
which campaigns for a diplomatic relationship between the two nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an official visit to

in 2017, responded to speculations that Israel's engagement in pursuing closer ties with India was to bolster its position against Pakistan, stating "We sraelare not an enemy of Pakistan and Pakistan should not be our enemy either." Following this, in 2018, widespread news (especially in Israeli media outlets) had begun to surface about an Israeli passenger aircraft stopping and staying in Pakistan for a day—stirring rumours that Israeli diplomats had made a covert official visit to Pakistan. There have been increased calls in Pakistan for pursuit of relations with Israel in light of what some Pakistanis view as the Arab world's naked abandonment of Pakistan—which had diplomatically, financially and militarily supported the

against Israel during the Arab-Israeli wars—in regards to the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

with India.

Alleged Military links

Britain's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills revealed in 2013 that Israel had exported military technology to Pakistan. It was also reported that Israel sought to purchase British military equipment such as electronic warfare systems and military-grade aircraft parts that were meant for the Pakistanis. Israel and Pakistan both immediately denied the report and called the revelations "misleading". It was unknown why Israel was possibly exporting military equipment to Pakistan covertly, but speculations were made that could be to bolster Pakistan's fight against insurgents and terrorists waging wars inside the country.

Sports ties

Israel and Pakistan have not participated in any sports together with the exception of a single football match in which they played against each other at the 1960

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

qualifiers. During the 2002 Wimbledon Open, Israeli tennis player Amir Hadad teamed up with Pakistani tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi to play in the 3rd round doubles together. The duo would later break news headlines as the first open Israeli-Pakistani partnership anywhere, which was positively received in both Israel and Pakistan alike albeit criticized by Pakistan's conservative religious parties. Dan Kiesel, an Israeli Jew with German citizenship, served as the

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...

's trainer and physiotherapist while living in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. During his time in Lahore, which he described as "a beautiful city", Kiesel said he never hid his identity as an Israeli Jew and that he never faced any problems or feel threatened as a result of this.

Timeline

* 1948—Various news outlets report that first contact between

and

were made in the early days of Pakistan's independence in August 1947, when Israeli Prime Minister

sent a secret message via telegram to Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the founder of Pakistan) asking him to recognize Israel when it declares independence, which happened in 1948. Jinnah reportedly did not give any particular response to Israel, possibly due to his severely deteriorating health and succumbed to his illnesses later that year. * 1949—

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...

became the only carrier to establish a direct air link between

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

as a sector on their

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

–

service, however it is not known whether they had traffic rights between the two which would allow passengers and cargo to be flown on the route. * 1950—Initial contact between the Pakistani ambassador in London and representatives of Israel and

organizations was made in early 1950 in an attempt to open legations in Karachi or at least conduct trade openly. * 1953—A meeting took place in New York between Pakistani diplomat Zafrullah Khan and Israeli diplomat Abba Eban on January 14 to discuss Israeli–Pakistani relations. * 1980s—During the Soviet–Afghan War (1979-1989), the CIA, MI6, ISI and Mossad ran a covert operation named Operation Cyclone in

to combat the

invasion. During the operation Israel and

had high-level contact through their intelligence agencies, including various military dealings. Israel also supported Pakistan by providing seized Soviet-made weapons from Palestinian insurgents to Pakistan during this period. * 1981—After Israel's attack on

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

's Osirak nuclear reactor, a similar plan to attack Pakistan's Kahuta nuclear facility with the help of

was foiled when Pakistani intelligence discovered the plan and foiled it by taking preventative measures, including plans for retaliatory airstrikes on critical facilities in Israel. * 1993—Former

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

, along with her then- Director-General of the Pakistani military, Pervez Musharraf had intensified the ISI's liaison with Mossad in 1993. Bhutto is said to have had a secret meeting in New York with a senior Israeli emissary, who flew to the U.S. during her visit to Washington, D.C. in 1995. * 1998—After Pakistan publicly conducted its first series of nuclear weapons testing a few days after

, then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent a secret courier to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, assuring Israel that Pakistan will not share its

nuclear technology Nuclear technology is technology that involves the nuclear reactions of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear reactors, nuclear medicine and nuclear weapons. It is also used, among other things, in s ...

with

to aide in their nuclear program. * 2001—Pakistan's ISI passed intelligence about the nuclear ambitions of Iran and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, whose program allegedly had the help of Pakistani scientists.Journalist and author George Crile's book, '' Charlie Wilson's War'' (Grove Press, New York, 2003) * 2003— Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf raised the debate of possible diplomatic relations with Israel. * 2004—Pakistan postponed a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation meeting scheduled in Islamabad for March, which would have also been attended by Israel's minister for agriculture Israel Katz. It would have been the first visit by an Israeli minister to Pakistan. Pakistan's foreign ministry insisted that while Katz may have been a member of the UN delegation, he was not issued an invitation by Pakistan. However, Katz stated he had been invited to Pakistan and was looking forward to the visit. According to Katz, relations between the two sides had improved since they were collaborating with the United States in the War on Terror. * 2005—The

s of the two countries, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and Silvan Shalom, held official talks for the first time, in Istanbul on 1 September. Before the meeting, Musharraf had met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, both of whom supported the talks. Shalom hailed the talks as having a "tremendous significance" in regards to not only Israel's relations with Pakistan, but with the

. Describing it as a "historic meeting", he was optimistic about establishing a "full diplomatic relationship with Pakistan as we would like it with all Muslim and Arab countries". However, following the meeting, Musharraf said Pakistan would not recognize the State of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established—in Musharraf's words: "Pakistan will eventually recognize Israel". On 15 September, Israeli media reported that Musharraf and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon had a cordial but informal interaction during the World Summit at the UN Headquarters. *2005—On 17 September, Pervez Musharraf was invited to address the American Jewish Congress in New York at a dinner hosted by Jack Rosen in his honour. The event came in the backdrop of Pakistan's decision to "engage Israel" following the latter's pullout from Gaza and the West Bank. Musharraf was given a standing ovation by Jewish Americans, and talked about his doctrine of Enlightened Moderation while adding that Pakistan wanted to pursue formal bilateral ties with Israel. He also said that "Pakistan has no direct conflict with Israel, and we are not a threat to Israel's security. We believe Israel represents no threat to Pakistan's national security. But our people have deep sympathy for the Palestinian people, and their legitimate desire for a state". Visibly moved by the reception, he added that he did not expect a Pakistani leader "to be greeted by this community with this sort of ovation". *2010—According to unconfirmed "leaked" American diplomatic cables, the head of Pakistan's ISI,

Ahmad Shuja Pasha passed on intelligence of the discovery of potential terrorist attacks in

, India to Israel through Washington. According to the cable, "He had been in direct touch with the Israelis on possible threats against Israeli targets in India." A few weeks before the cable was written, Israel had issued a travel advisory warning of possible attacks against Jewish sites in India. * 2011—Israel was alleged to have exported British military technology to Pakistan. * 2012—British-Pakistani MP Sajid Javid made a speech which was very positively received by the '' Jewish Chronicle'', the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Known for his pro-Israel views, Javid was tipped as the future

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, to which a guest reportedly replied: "Of Britain, or Israel?" * 2015—An Arab-Israeli scientist, Ramzi Suleiman, attended a scientific conference sponsored by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and held in

, Pakistan. * 2016—A Pakistani PhD scholar and writer, Malik Shah Rukh, started th
Israel-Pakistan Friendship Group
which campaigns for a diplomatic relationship between the two nations. * 2017—During an official visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed suggestions that his country's partnership with India is a threat to Pakistan, saying, "We (Israel) are not enemies of Pakistan and Pakistan should not be our enemy either." *2018—It was speculated by Israel's largest newspaper that an Israeli business jet landed and stayed in Islamabad for ten hours. According to the details, the private aircraft had departed Tel Aviv with a brief stopover in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, where it assigned itself a new call sign en route to Islamabad. The alleged trip happened a day before Benjamin Netanyahu's state visit to Oman. There was further talk that this could have been the first visit to Pakistan by Benjamin Netanyahu or high-ranking Israeli officials. Responding to the media frenzy, Pakistani government officials rejected the veracity of the report and denied that any such visit took place. However, a pilot and three staff members at Nur Khan Airbase privately confirmed to the '' Middle East Eye'' that they had seen the aircraft and witnessed a vehicle receive a delegation at the steps of the plane. *2020—Following the U.S.-brokered normalization agreement and establishment of diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel, with Muslim nations

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

also following suit, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan dismissed any possibility of his country doing the same, stating that "Pakistan will never recognize Israel until Palestinians are given their right of a just settlement." According to Khan, this was also in line with the stated position of Pakistan's founder, Jinnah. In a later interview, Khan hinted that there had been "pressure" on Pakistan from some quarters in the United States and certain Muslim countries with whom Pakistan enjoyed "good relations" (speculatively Saudi Arabia) to recognise Israel, however Pakistan would maintain its position. In a television interview with Israel's i24 News, Pakistani journalist Mubasher Lucman supported the idea of Pakistan having diplomatic ties with Israel albeit without the involvement of any third party, remarks which earned him domestic backlash and criticism. *2020—A political aide of prime minister Imran Khan, Zulfi Bukhari, was alleged to have visited Tel Aviv, Israel, using his British passport aboard a Pakistani military jet which landed in Amman in November. Bukhari reportedly met with Mossad's chief Yossi Cohen to deliver a message from Khan and Pakistan's army chief, general Qamar Javed Bajwa. Bukhari denied the reports. However, the Israeli newspaper ''Haaretz'' maintained its claim regarding the trip. *2022—A 15-member delegation including Pakistan Television (PTV) journalist Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani Jewish citizen Fishel Benkhald, and a group of Pakistani-Americans visited Israel to participate in an interfaith harmony dialogue. The trip was sponsored by the non-governmental organisation Sharaka to facilitate engagement between Muslims and Jews. The delegation met Israeli president Isaac Herzog and diplomat Dani Dayan among others. Qureshi claimed that former prime minister Imran Khan had been willing to establish contacts with Israel, and that the delegation's trip had also been approved by his government. Israeli president Herzog later publicly acknowledged the meeting at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

: "And I must say this was an amazing experience. We haven't had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel in such scope. And that all stems from the Abraham Accords, meaning Jews and Muslims can dwell together in the region...". *2023—Pakistan strongly supports Palestinians in Gaza after Gaza war breaks out. "The first lesson of the Gaza war is that the so-called recognition of Israel debate or discussion in Pakistan has been buried, and rightly so," Senator Mushahid Hussain, the defense committee chair of the upper house of the Pakistani parliament, said in an interview with the media.