A Passport Paradox As Donald Trump Wants Pakistan To Join Abraham Accords

US President Donald Trump has pushed for Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords, arguing that a broader diplomatic coalition involving Israel should become a compulsory part of any future regional peace arrangement with Iran.

In a series of statements and conversations with regional leaders, Trump described the expansion of the accords as central to a larger geopolitical settlement in the Middle East. He said countries unwilling to participate “should not be part of this Deal”.

Trump Calls Expansion Of Accords “Mandatory”

Posting on Truth Social, Trump said the United States had spent enormous effort putting together a “very complex puzzle” and insisted that key Muslim-majority countries must now formally normalise relations with Israel.

He specifically named Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan.

According to Trump, Saudi Arabia and Qatar should sign immediately. He also suggested Iran itself could eventually become part of the arrangement after reaching a final peace understanding with Washington, saying it would be “an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition”.

Trump described the proposed alliance as a future “Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM” that could make the Middle East “United, Powerful, and Economically Strong”.

Pakistan Rejects The Proposal

Islamabad responded, making it clear there would be no shift in its long-standing policy on Israel.

Pakistan said it was “under no compulsion” to accept such demands and reiterated that recognition of Israel remains tied to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

The country’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif criticised the idea of joining the accords and questioned Israel’s credibility, asking, “How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also ruled out any immediate policy change. Per Pakistan’s official position, Israel will not be recognised until an independent Palestinian state is established on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

What Are The Abraham Accords?

The Abraham Accords are US-brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, first signed in 2020.

Named after the biblical figure Abraham, the accords were presented as a framework for peace and shared cooperation among followers of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Before these agreements, only Egypt and Jordan had formally recognised Israel among Arab nations.

The accords marked a major diplomatic shift because participating countries agreed to establish ties with Israel without waiting for a resolution to the Palestinian issue.

The agreements opened the door to direct flights, trade partnerships, tourism, technology cooperation and security coordination. Countries involved also agreed to establish embassies and exchange ambassadors.

The framework has also been viewed as an emerging regional alliance against shared security threats, particularly Iran.

Why Pakistan’s Passport Would Need To Change

If Pakistan ever joined the Abraham Accords, one immediate bureaucratic problem would emerge – its passport.

Pakistan’s passport currently carries an explicit restriction banning travel to Israel. Printed inside every passport booklet is the line, “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”

That wording would become legally incompatible with normalised diplomatic relations.

Any agreement involving tourism, trade, work visas or embassy operations with Israel would require Pakistan to remove the “except Israel” clause from future passport designs.

Without that change, the state would face a direct contradiction, officially recognising a country while simultaneously issuing passports that prohibit citizens from travelling there.

Why The Passport Clause Matters

Diplomatic normalisation is not symbolic alone. It involves practical systems like visas, immigration rules, commercial travel and consular access.

A passport that explicitly invalidates travel to a recognised partner country would complicate visa processing, airline operations and bilateral agreements.

Similar situations have emerged elsewhere in South Asia. Bangladesh, for instance, removed its “except Israel” wording during the rollout of modernised e-passports linked to international formatting standards.

For Pakistan, joining the Abraham Accords would therefore not only represent a foreign policy reversal, but it would also require rewriting one of the clearest legal statements embedded in its national passport system.