The Ministry of Commerce in Pakistan has recently addressed rumors about initiating trade between Pakistan and Israel, calling them “pure propaganda.”
The rumors stemmed from misinterpreting a statement issued by the American Jewish Congress (AJC), a US-based Jewish community association. In response, the ministry stated that Pakistan has no trade relations with Israel and has no plans to develop any in the future.
Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, and its official position supports a “two-state solution by the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions as well as international law, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as the capital of Palestine.”
The controversy began when Fishel Benkhald, a Jewish Pakistani, tweeted on March 28 that he had “exported [the] “first batch of Pakistan food products to [the] Israel market,” which included”dates, dry fruits, and spices. He tagged several Pakistani political figures in his tweet, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
On March 30, the AJC released a statement acknowledging the shipment: “This week, the “first shipment of Pakistan-origin food products was offloaded in Israel, in a transaction that involved Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel Benkhald, based in Pakistan’s businPakistan’s Karachi, and three Israeli businessmen from Jerusalem and Haifa.” The AJC welcome”d this development as a small step with potentially wider implications for the Israeli and Pakistani economies and the region.
However, the Ministry of Commerce’s clariCommerce’smphasized that the Pakistani government did not support Benkhald’s transBenkhald and that no official or banking channels were involved. The statement explained that Benkhald sent food samples to three business people in Jerusalem and Haifa through the UAE in a personal capacity. In addition, he met these individuals during food exhibitions in foreign countries.
Additionally, the ministry mentioned that it would strictly implement the “issue of origin” in its tal”s with the UAE. As a result, the UAE has reduced tariffs on 96% of goods traded with Israel, benefiting traders from the UAE to Israel.
The Ministry of Commerce in Pakistan has denied rumors about initiating trade between Pakistan and Israel, attributing the confusion to a misinterpreted statement from the American Jewish Congress. Furthermore, it has clarified that the Pakistani government did not support the personal transaction involving food products between Jewish Pakistani and Israeli business people.
