Pakistan sends envoy to Israel with 'secret letter' seeking normalisation of ties: Report

Pakistan has reportedly initiated "secret normalisation talks" with Israel, according to Middle East Monitor, which cited a Hebrew news website as its source. According to the report, a senior Pakistani official recently visited Israel and handed over a "secret letter" from Prime Minister Imran Khan to the head of Mossad spy agency, Yossi Cohen. The senior Pakistani official is believed to be Sayed Bukhari, an adviser to Imran Khan. 

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Visits Foreign Affairs office

Bukhari reportedly landed at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on a British Airways flight on November 20 that flew in from Islamabad via London. Upon landing, Bukhari was taken straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' office in Jerusalem. The report claims that Bukhari stayed in Israel for a few days and extended Imran Khan's request to begin talks regarding normalisation of relations between Islamabad and Tel Aviv. 

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According to the report, Khan's request was received positively in Israel. Pakistan is apparently seeking normalisation of ties with Israel for more economic stability to help its relations with neighbour India. Pakistan does not officially recognise Israel because of the latter's ongoing conflict with Palestine regarding a two-state solution. Earlier this year, Imran Khan had said that the United States is pressuring Pakistan to recognise Israel, accusing Tel Aviv of controlling America's Middle East policy through its strong lobby in Washington. 

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The United States has been proactively seeking normalisation of relations between Israel and other Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, under a US-brokered peace deal, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalised ties with Israel as they signed Abraham Accords in Washington on September 15. Later, Sudan and Morocco also agreed to normalise relations with Tel Aviv, providing the outgoing Trump administration with a diplomatic achievement in its last days in the White House.   

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