Musharraf's "Shameful" Meeting

It is not the first time that Musharraf meets with a senior Israeli official.

"It's a matter of shame that Israeli forces are killing innocent children, and women in Gaza, and our president is engaged in appeasing America to save his stint," said Asadullah Khan, a software engineer, told IslamOnline.net.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that Musharraf and Barak met "by chance" last week in Paris.

Foreign ministry sources confirmed that Musharraf and Barak held two separate meetings.

They first met at the Hotel Raphael but the following day Musharraf invited the Israeli minister for a meeting and the two talked for about an hour.

Asadullah ridiculed that Pakistani and Israeli officials are increasingly meeting one another "by chance" recently.

"He (Musharraf) should desist from befooling the nation. He should tell us the truth," he said. "Who has given him the mandate to do that?"

"If it was a by-chance meeting, then what about the meeting between Kasuri (former Pakistani foreign minister), and Israeli foreign minister in Istanbul in 2006?"

Hassan Hammad, the secretary general of United Students Alliance, a conglomeration of several student organizations, blasted what he termed as the "shameful meeting."

"Musharraf has shoved knife in the back of Muslim Ummah," he fumed.

Contacts with Israel are a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, which has no official relations with Tel Aviv.

Reports about previous meetings between Pakistani and Israeli officials even it was just a handshake had engendered massive protests in the world's second-most populous Muslim country.

The situation is more tense than anytime before given Israel's deadly blockade of the Gaza Strip and almost non-stop onslaughts that killed in recent days up to 100 Palestinians, including children and women.

"Similar"

Lawyer Nihal Hashmi was not surprised by the Musharraf-Barak get-together, because they are "similar."

"They have unleashed aggression and suppression against the innocent people. What Israel is doing in Gaza today, Musharraf is doing the same in Pakistan's tribal areas. Our army is killing our own people," said Hashmi.

The army has launched a full-scale operation to crush militants holing in the restive northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27.

Pakistani and US officials have blamed her murder on Waziristan-based tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud, saying that he is backed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He denies any involvement.

Hashmi, a senior member of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (N), said he sees another "similarity" between Musharraf and Israeli officials.

"They are following the Hitler's policy. They don't believe in dialogue. And they both have the support of US and the west. They both think that aggression is the solution of all the problem," he said.

"It is high time for America and the west that if they really want peace in the world then they must desist from supporting Zionists and people like Musharraf who only believe in aggression and carnage."

Professor Shameem Akhtar, a former Chairman of International Relations Department at University of Karachi, believes "American influence" and Israel's "warming" military ties with Pakistan's arch foe India were behind Musharraf's signs of rapprochement with Israel.

"Pakistan's foreign policy has never been independent. It has always been influenced by US," he said.

"There is no better way to appease America than being nice to Israel."

Recognized

Pakistanis said that Musharraf's deeds indicate that he has already recognized Israel in contrast to the state declared no normalization policy.

"He (Musharraf) is moving towards recognition of Israel," said Athar Hashmi, editor of Jasarat newspaper, describing Musharraf as a person of "dangerous mental frame."

"His contacts with Israel, and aspiration to recognize the 'Jewish state' are not new," said Athar.

Musharraf and the now coma-stricken former hawkish Israeli premier Ariel Sharon shook hands on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2005.

In the same year, then Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom met Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri in Turkey.

In September 2006, Musharraf said his government would have to recognize Israel after an independent Palestinian state was established.

Official sources told IOL that Pakistan and Israel have back-channel contacts since the 2006 Istanbul meeting.

"Back-channel contacts underway since that meeting", a senior Foreign Office official said.

The official said that Islamabad has been reluctant to publically admit contacts with Israel in order not to provoke the public sensibilities.

Akhtar, the Karachi University professor, says Musharraf would not dare to recognize Israel unilaterally.

"Pervez Musharraf knows very well about the limit he can go with. Pakistanis will never accept that," he said.

Hassan, the secretary general of United Students Alliance, was more defiant.

"Palestine is not the issue of only Arabs. It's the issue of entire Muslim Ummah," he said.

"Musharraf has already betrayed the nation at many stages. But the people of Pakistan will not let him do that once again", he said.