One of the furious reactions in Pakistan to the meeting of the country’s Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul on Thursday is that it was a “stab in the back” for the Palestinians. Considering the strong emotions the issue of Palestine evokes in the Muslim world, such a reaction was not surprising. However, it was no such thing. The head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas knew about the talks in advance and, though some radical Palestinians have objected, the overall reaction among Palestinians has been positive. Time indeed may show that the encounter might have contributed to the peace process and final justice for the Palestinians.
By breaking a 60-year diplomatic silence and talking to the Israelis albeit on neutral territory, President Musharraf’s administration believes that it is holding a carrot in front of Sharon and his government. It must be imagined that the decision to hold these talks was taken neither lightly not quickly. The Pakistanis clearly waited for the success of the Gaza hand back to be assured. Even though this was a unilateral move by the Israelis prompted largely be security considerations, it has been taken by many in the international community as a contribution to the peace process, which does not however now permit the Israelis to continue with their illegal wall nor validate their claims to West Bank settlements on stolen Palestinian land.
Pakistan’s dramatic intervention at this point can be seen as an indication of the wider rewards that Israel may expect if it continues with the peace process. Even if it were not clear that he was responding to a request from the Palestinian leadership, it is hard to see Musharraf’s initiative originating from prompting by the Bush White House as some opposition figures in Pakistan have claimed so bitterly.
Musharraf may be working closely with Washington in the war on terror but he can be under few illusions about America’s muddled thinking in the Middle East and its blatant double standard when it comes to Israel. He is hardly likely to dance to Bush’s tune on Israel and the peace process.
It is probably that the Pakistani and the Palestinian leaders believed that by dropping a few carefully chosen grains of diplomatic effort into Palestinian-Israeli affairs, Pakistan may be helping tip the balance toward peace and the successful resumption of the difficult journey along the road map. It is a high-risk maneuver — not simply because Musharraf’s domestic opponents have chosen to call him a traitor. It is also possible that the Israelis will abuse this careful diplomatic gesture in an attempt to sow dissension and political unrest among supporters of the Palestinians. If that happens, it will result in Musharraf losing considerable political face.
But the tragedy of Palestine and the lure of a just and peaceful settlement for its people justify the level of risk that Musharraf has agreed to take.
