New Delhi: The Palestine Authority has decided to recall its envoy from Islamabad in the face of India’s strong protest over the presence of the Palestine ambassador to Pakistan in the company of Mumbai attack mastermind and global terrorist Hafiz Saeed in Rawalpindi.
A day after India’s demarche, Palestine ambassador to India Adnan Abu Al Haija said, “Our ambassador in Pakistan has committed a fault, knowingly or otherwise. He is being recalled to Ramallah. He will no longer be Palestine ambassador to Pakistan. Relations with India are very important for us.”
Al Haija was called in by Vijay Gokhale, a senior diplomat in the ministry of external affairs, to express India’s concerns after Palestinian envoy in Pakistan Waleed Abu Ali was seen with Saeed, who heads terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, and was recently released from detention. “We stand together with India in its fight against terrorism,” Al Haija said. “It is a historical relationship and we are working to strengthen it.”
The widely circulated picture of Abu Ali sharing a stage with Saeed in Rawalpindi, which also houses the headquarters of the Lashkar boss’s mentor the Pakistan Army, led to strong outrage, coming as it does close on the heels of India going against the US in a vote in the UN on the American decision to support Israel’s move to declare Jerusalem its capital. India is also implementing projects such as the development of information technology and electronics in the PA.
Modi to travel to Palestine in coming months
In a statement, the Palestine Authority said, “On the basis of the principled and firm Palestinian position, the ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates considered the participation of our ambassador in Pakistan in a mass rally in solidarity with Jerusalem, held in Rawalpindi, and in the presence of individuals accused of supporting terrorism is an unintended mistake, but not justified. Accordingly, the ministry, under the direct instructions of the President of the State of Palestine, has (decided) to recall the Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan immediately.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Palestine in the coming months. “I cannot disclose the exact date, but I can confirm that Mr Modi will travel to Palestine,” Al Haija said.
