Trump pushes broader Middle East deal
The US President called on Pakistan and several West Asian nations to join the Abraham Accords
Pakistan has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s proposal urging Islamabad to join the Abraham Accords as part of a broader diplomatic effort linked to a possible peace arrangement with Iran.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said joining the US-backed agreements would go against the country’s “fundamental ideologies.”
Speaking to Pakistani news channel Samaa TV, Asif was asked whether Pakistan would consider joining the Abraham Accords amid what was described as growing pressure from Washington.
“Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies,” Asif said during the interview.
Questioning the possibility of engaging with Israel, the Pakistani minister added, “How could Pakistan sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif:
Personally, I don’t think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies.
How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?
We have a very clear stance… pic.twitter.com/kweVELgLXn
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 25, 2026
When asked whether the US State Department had formally approached Islamabad over the matter, Asif responded, “We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us.”
During the interview, the minister also pointed out that Pakistan remains among the few countries whose passports do not recognise Israel.
A clip of the interview has since gone viral on social media, although its authenticity could not be independently verified by Zee News.
Trump had earlier called on Pakistan and several West Asian countries — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey — to join the Abraham Accords as part of a wider diplomatic initiative aimed at ending the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said participation in the accords should be “mandatory” for countries involved in the discussions.
The US President said broader participation in the Abraham Accords could help bring “true Power, Strength, and Peace to the Middle East for the first time in 5,000 years.”
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would otherwise be,” Trump wrote.
According to reports, Trump held discussions with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain regarding the proposal.
The Abraham Accords are a series of diplomatic normalisation agreements brokered by the United States in 2020 between Israel and several Arab nations.
The first agreements were signed at the White House on September 15, 2020, between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Sudan and Morocco later joined the accords.
The agreements focus on expanding cooperation in areas such as trade, security, technology, tourism and investment while normalising diplomatic relations with Israel.
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