(Ha'aretz) Yossi Melman - Pakistani President Musharraf's decision to establish open ties with Israel, as reflected in the meeting Thursday in Istanbul between Foreign Minister Shalom and his Pakistani counterpart, required considerable courage. Israel and the Jews are widely hated in Pakistan. There are two reasons for this decision. First, Pakistan believes that Israel and the Jews can open doors for it in the U.S. government. But the more important reason relates to India, Pakistan's traditional foe. Over the past decade, Israel has formed a strategic alliance with India that has generated cooperation in the intelligence and nuclear fields and expanded trade, and in particular has made India into a leading market for Israeli defense exports. Musharraf therefore concluded that a dramatic step was necessary to try to reshape this alliance into something less disturbing to Pakistan.
2005-09-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive