Pakistan’s president denies warming ties with Israel

Pakistani President Arif Alvi responded to reports of an Israeli aircraft landing in Islamabad by refuting claims that his nation planned to establish ties with Israel.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi says the country will not establish ties with Israel and that it supports the Palestinians because of the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The coastal enclave has been the site of massive violent riots organized by the Hamas terror group since March, in addition to serving as a launchpad for rocket attacks, including an onslaught of over 30 rockets fired at Israeli civilians over the weekend.

Alvi, before departing to Ankara on a three-day visit Sunday, told reporters that all speculation about the landing of an Israeli jet at an Islamabad airport was baseless.

Since he assumed office last month, this is Alvi’s first foreign visit following an invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Israeli journalist Avi Scharf tweeted on Thursday that a private Israeli business jet had flown to Islamabad from Tel Aviv and remained in the Pakistani capital for nearly 10 hours, fueling media speculation.

Several Pakistani ministers and the Civil Aviation Authority denied the report.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan was created as an independent state for Muslims on the Indian subcontinent and adopted a new constitution in 1973 that requires all laws are to conform with Islamic doctrine.

Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has remained a hotbed of Islamic terrorism, with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed in terror attacks between 2001 and 2011, and an average of at least one suicide bombing every week, according to a BBC report.