Palestinian president praises Pakistan due its refusal to over Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has praised Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his country's consistent and supportive stances with regards the Palestinian cause and refusal to recognise Israel.

In a telegram message sent to the prime minister, Abbas said, we followed with great interest and gratitude your last TV meeting and your honorable and original statements about the official Pakistani positions that are firm and supportive of the just Palestinian cause. This matter is not new to the brotherly Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the leadership, government, people and history and Pakistan is a source of pride for every Palestinian in the world. We highly appreciate your adherence to your position in support of the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights, despite the pressures that you are subjected to, which confirms your courage, originality and the strength of your resolve, and your commitment to support the causes of people demanding justice.

The Palestinian president's comments come days after Khan's revelation that Islamabad is under growing pressure from friendly countries to recognise Israel. However he reiterated Pakistan's position that it will not do so without a fair settlement for the Palestinians.

Although Khan told local media that Israel's deep influence in the US was behind the pressure, he was asked if Muslim countries were also urging the move, to which Khan responded that there are things we cannot say. We have good relations with them. It is likely that such pressure has come from Gulf states which Pakistan relies on for both oil and financial support who have normalised ties with Israel not excluding Saudi Arabia which has established overt and covert ties with Tel Aviv over the years.