Pakistan denies any relations with Israel

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has denied any intention by his country to establish relations with Israel or to normalize relations with it. In a statement to the Kuwaiti daily al-Watan issued on Tuesday, Sharif said there are "legitimate Arab rights, occupied Arab lands and the question of Jerusalem which we view as basic, and Israel has to abide by international legitimacy and resolutions."

Sharif asserted Pakistan's full backing for the Palestinian people in their struggle to return to self-determination and the establishment of their own native state on their soil of Palestine, with Jerusalem as a capital.