[Current Affairs] August 20,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

What’s going on? Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan took a stance on the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and said Pakistan will not recognize Israel until there is a Palestinian state acceptable to the Palestinians. During an interview with Dunya News, PM Khan said Pakistan would not normalize ties with Israel like the UAE recently did.

The details: As a part of the deal with UAE, also called “Abraham Accord,” Israel committed to halting further annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank. However, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he only agreed to a “delay” in annexation, not a straight up cancellation. PM Khan believes the Palestinians have faced “every kind of injustice.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, stated that peace and stability in the Middle East is a priority, but Pakistan is also committed to the rights of Palestinians.

The context: On August 13, the UAE became the first Gulf Arab Country, and third in the Middle East after Egypt and Jordan, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel via a US-brokered deal. Israel and the UAE have maintained covert relations with each other for a while. In 2018, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports became the first Israeli to visit Abu Dhabi on an official state visit. Both countries have also shared intelligence and conducted direct/indirect flights.

The bottom line: Pakistan is on team-Palestinians.