Pakistani defence minister rejects joining the Abraham Accords

According to MEE, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced he did not believe Pakistan should join the Abraham Accords, discarding calls to normalise relations with Israel on May 25th.

In a Truth Social post, US President Trump said he had encouraged leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan to join the accords, pushing for regional normalisation of ties with Israel.

Speaking to Pakistani news channel Samaa TV, the Defence Minister asserted that joining such an agreement would conflict with Pakistan’s core principles and values, adding that the country’s position on the conflicts in Iran and Gaza remained clear. 

The Abraham Accords were first officially signed in September 2020 by Israel and the UAE, followed by Sudan and Morocco shortly after. The agreement has been subjected to many uncertainties in the past years, particularly due to the war in Gaza.

President Trump already called on many Muslim and Middle Eastern countries to join the Abraham Accords last August, stating on his social media: “Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally obliterated, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords.” 

The last country to join the Accords was Kazakhstan in November 2025. Kazakhstan’s plans to join the initiative were seen as largely symbolic as it has never severed ties with Israel. 

In July 2025, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar commented on a new proposal for Syria and Lebanon, saying, “We are interested in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbours, to the circle of peace and normalisation while safeguarding Israel’s essential and security interests.” However, that possibility is improbable right now.

The ongoing insistence of the US to call for Middle Eastern countries to join the Accords is commonly seen as a way to bolster defences against Iran.