ISLAMABAD: PTI Se­­n­ior Vice President Dr Shi­reen Mazari on Monday said the issuance of a passport for visit to Jerusalem during PTI’s tenure shou­­ld not be associated with the start of trade with Israel.

In a statement, she said visas were issued to Pakistani nationals on the basis of religion to visit religious sites in Israel. “However starting trade between the two countries, by bulldozing the state policy, is totally different thing,” she added.

Dr Mazari, who was the minister for human rights during the PTI government, said all the characters of regime change conspiracy were exposed and they also lacked knowledge.

“Visas were issued to [Pakistani] citizens to practice their religion. There is a huge difference in travelling and doing trade ...between two countries without having diplomatic relations,” she explained.

It may be recalled that the state of Pakistan, at the time of issuance of passport, clearly mentions on it that “the passport is valid to travel any country, but Israel”.

Dr Mazari said it was impossible for any citizen to do trade with Israel without taking the government into loop.

“There is a political agenda behind it as in recent past, a Pakistani citizen, Ahmed Qureshi, visited Israel. At that time, we had asked the government to clarify if the policy regarding Israel had been changed, but the government kept mum about the matter,” she added.

The PTI leader said the events taken place in recent past proved that former prime minister Imran Khan’s stance about Israel was correct. That’s why the regime change conspiracy was hatched and after removing the PTI government, now once again the incumbent regime was trying to build relations with Israel, she added.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2023