Pakistan plans to send a delegation to Israel following historic talks on Thursday between their foreign ministers, but it still does not recognise the Jewish state, President Pervez Musharraf has said.
Speaking to reporters in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, Musharraf said the talks held in Istanbul, Turkey, between Kurshid Kasuri and his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom were "the first formal contact between our two countries".
"But this in no way means that we are recognising Israel. We will not recognise Israel until it resolves the Palestinian issue. This is absolutely not to recognise Israel," Musharraf said. "We should change our policies in accordance with the international environment and be a farsighted nation.''
He added that Pakistan would send a delegation to al-Quds in Jerusalem, "where it will be welcomed by Palestinians and Israelis", but gave no further details.
Islamic hardliners, however, condemned the talks in Turkey. They accused the government of succumbing to pressure from the United States and engaging Israel without telling the parliament.
"The Pakistani nation, openly and collectively, condemns this unfortunate meeting, which the foreign miniter has held with a representative of the Jewish occupier of Palestinian land," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, an opposition coalition of six Islamic parties.
"We will oppose, with full force, any step that is taken toward recognising Israel," he said. The secular Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz opposition party also raised objections, saying the meeting was "premature and will hardly yield positive results".