The foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan met formally for the first time on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey in a meeting that both sides described as 'historic.' Pakistan had taken a very hard line anti-Israel approach to foreign policy although Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements seems to have opened the door for change.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri, met with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom at the behest of Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf.
Shalom was hopeful that the meeting would be the first step to full diplomatic relations between Israel and Pakistan.
'I am sure that this meeting will be followed by more meetings in the future,' Shalom said. 'We hope that finally it will lead to full diplomatic relations with Pakistan as we would like it with all Muslim and Arab countries.'
Only four Muslim countries have recognized Israel and have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. They include Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Mauritania.
Mr. Kasuri made it clear that any permanent and normal diplomatic relations between the two countries will be contingent on further Israeli moves toward peace with the Palestinians.
Kasuri called today's meeting 'a gesture to underscore the importance that we in Pakistan attach to Israel ending its occupation of Gaza. It is important that Israel is encouraged to continue to pursue the course of peace and vacation of its occupation,' he said.
'The meeting today does not mean recognition,' Kasuri added. 'That stage will come following progress toward the solution of the Palestinian problem.'
Pakistan is still calling for Israel to withdraw from all territory it won in the 1967 Six Day War. That would include all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Security was extremely tight at the talks which were held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul. The hotel served as a prison during the days of the Ottoman Empire.
While the two foreign ministers met formally Thursday, they held informal meetings at the same location Wednesday night.
Zalman Shoval, a foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Associated Press that he was hopeful regarding the future of Israeli-Pakistani relations.
'There have been contacts on different levels with Pakistani officials for several years,' Shoval said. 'Even I myself had contacts with the Pakistani ambassador during my tenure in Washington and I always heard the willingness and desire to establish relations at the right moment,' he said.
'Israel is of course interested in widening its official diplomatic relations with as many countries as possible and especially Muslim countries,' he said.
