No trade with Israel until Palestinians get their rights: PM

Says an individual traded some goods and govt has nothing to do with that

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ruled out possibility of any trade ties with Israel until Palestinians get their rights of a separate state. Addressing the parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at Parliament House on Monday, the prime minister condemned rumours circulating in the media that government had any trade relations with Israel.

He resolved that Pakistan would not change its principled position of having no ties with Israel until the Palestinians are given their legitimate right. Terming the rumours ‘unfounded’ and ‘condemnable’, Premier Shehbaz said government would stick to its no-trade policy with Israel.

Referring to the social media posts mentioning any trade activity by a Pakistani Jew with Israel, PM Shehbaz said these were baseless. He said an individual had traded some goods and govt had nothing to do with that.

He said people behind that propaganda were those people who opposed a Muslim candidate of London Mayorship. They were actually supporting the Jewish candidate, he added.

Mentioning the destroyed economy and strained foreign relations with China, Saudi Arabia and others, he said the government was making all-out efforts to cope with the challenges.

He said the government had fulfilled all conditions imposed by the IMF as the previous regime had violated the commitments with the global financial institution. He said Pakistan was genuinely at a crossroads. He, however, was optimistic that situation will change in future. He said everyone should live within the ambit of the Constitution and law.

He said the government was trying to improve the situation but political stability was a must to achieve the desired goal.