ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: Pakistan on Thursday described the Istanbul meeting between Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom as a ‘gesture’ aimed at helping the Middle East peace process.

Announcing the major diplomatic development at a news conference here on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said: “This contact, the first at this level, is essentially a gesture to Israel to underscore the importance that we attach to the end of Israeli occupation of Gaza and to the Middle East peace process.”

He added: “We believe that this meeting will provide an impetus to the peace process by encouraging Israel to appreciate that reasonableness on its part in respecting the aspirations of the Palestinian people will draw positive responses from the Islamic world.”

The foreign secretary said the contact did not imply recognition of Israel by Pakistan. When grilled on any shift in Pakistan’s policy towards Israel, he asserted that Pakistan’s principled position remains unchanged.

“We stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters in their cause for the establishment of an independent state in Palestine with Al Quds as its capital, he said, adding: “We will continue to support all efforts towards that objective, including the Quartet roadmap and the solemn Declaration of the Arab League Summit of March 2002.”

Giving the genesis of the dramatic move, Mr Khan pointed to the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Pakistan in May. He recounted Mr Abbas’s discussion with President Pervez Musharraf on how Pakistan in view of its key position internationally and in the Muslim world could impress upon Israel the need to move forward with the peace process. He had also mentioned the ‘paradigm shift’ in world affairs.

Mr Khan dismissed the view that the Istanbul contact had been established due to foreign pressure.

In reply to a question, he underlined that Pakistan was not brokering any mediation but only trying to ensure that there was no stagnation in the peace process.

On Tuesday, he said, President Musharraf had informed President Abbas and then King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia about the planned meeting and both the leaders had welcomed the step as a ‘helpful’ initiative.

He said Pakistan through diplomatic channels had also informed some other ‘brotherly countries’ situated in proximity to Israel or are directly concerned with the Palestinian issue. He refused to divulge names of those countries.

The foreign secretary was evasive when asked if political parties, parliament and the cabinet were also taken into confidence. He merely said that there was convergence of all political parties on the Palestinian issue and this ‘gesture’ was aimed at only resolving it.

Asked what made Pakistan confident that this move would help the peace process, he said all the countries that Pakistan had consulted thought it would be a ‘useful’ step. Asked if President Musharraf would meet the Israeli prime minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month, he said there were no such plans.

On the Pakistani delegation’s proposed visit to Gaza and Al Quds, he said the process of putting together the delegation was under way. He said the delegation would also be visiting Ramallah.

When asked if Israel’s name would still be forbidden on the Pakistani passport, he said Pakistan had not recognized Israel yet.

The foreign secretary said Pakistan was grateful to Turkey for facilitating the meeting and added that Islamabad had taken the initiative for the contact. “After the Gaza (pullout) the decision was taken by Pakistan.”

He said: “This initiative is also consistent with the important role that Pakistan continues to play in the Islamic world for peace and security and in the interest of promoting the settlement of long-standing issues that continue to torment Islamic societies.”

Asked if Pakistan considered Israel a legitimate state, Mr Khan said it was a member of the United Nations. He kept emphasizing that the Kasuri-Shalom meeting did not amount to recognition of Israel. He hoped that Israel would vacate all territories occupied in 1967.