To sign or not to sign’ is the question before Islamabad, after US President Donald Trump suggested, or rather directed, Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords — the Washington-mediated agreements that seek to normalise relations between Israel and Arab nations. Trump has described the expansion of the Abraham Accords as central to a larger geopolitical settlement in West Asia. His argument seems to be that any future regional peace arrangement involving Iran must emerge within a broader US-backed diplomatic coalition centred on Israel and its regional partners. That makes Pakistan a stakeholder.
In his characteristic “take it or leave it” style, Trump has told regional leaders that countries unwilling to participate “should not be part of this Deal.”
Named after the biblical patriarch Abraham — the common ancestor revered by Judaism, Islam and Christianity — the Abraham Accords were presented by Trump to emphasise shared religious roots, promote interfaith brotherhood, and represent a collective vision for peace, ironically after causing massive destruction in the region to secure American economic interests and geopolitical supremacy.
Now that Trump wants Pakistan to become part of the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel, he is effectively asking Islamabad not to remain a ‘faithless and fickle’ partner in his game of war and peace.
Changed realities in West Asia
When Trump first pushed the Abraham accords in 2020, he was essentially seeking to bring more Arab countries on the side of Israel and form a broad political and security coalition against Iran. With West Asia once again engulfed in a war, it has become all the more necessary for Trump to have more countries join the US-Israel bandwagon and intimidate Tehran into subjugation and accepting the terms and conditions of a future peace deal that would cripple its already nosediving economy and further damage national pride among Iranians.
Four Arab countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan — signed the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel. Kazakhstan, a Muslim-majority but non-Arab country, formally joined the framework in November 2025.
In March 2020, the four Arab countries were hosted by Israel and subsequently formalised the Negev Forum, which included the US, to provide a scalable economic, security and diplomatic framework. The group suggested more trade should take place even as Israel “must make progress on implementing a two-state solution for Palestinians with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Within two years of the accords’ signing, however, the geopolitical realities of West Asia had begun to change. The Israel-Hamas war altered regional equations, while the groundbreaking China-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023 normalised relations between Gulf countries and Tehran.
Iran, meanwhile, proposed its own “counter Abraham Accords” framework — the Muslim West Asian Dialogue Association (MWADA) — aimed at encouraging cooperation among Muslim-majority countries, including both Shia and Sunni states, in matters of regional security and trade. Tehran even proposed including Türkiye, historically its rival, in a broader regional coalition against Israel.
Türkiye, on its part, has pursued its own geoeconomic framework connecting Asia and Europe through Iraq’s Development Road project. The proposed corridor from the Faw Port to the Turkish border is being projected as a compelling alternative to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
Needless to say, Pakistan has been kept out of all these competing regional initiatives. Now, after another three years of instability and war in the region, the US is waking up to reality and seeking to regroup Abraham Accord countries while simultaneously trying to include Pakistan in the ongoing peace deals, which appear to be going nowhere.
Also read: Pakistan’s role in West Asia conflict mirrors a familiar pattern—use and discard by the US
Pakistan’s dilemma
Pakistan faces a Hobson’s choice over the US proposal to sign the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel. Several Arab states normalised relations with Israel while preserving their Arab political identity and strengthening their economies and security partnerships without facing major domestic opposition.
Pakistan’s situation is very different. It faces a severe economic crisis, deep political instability, sectarian factionalism, is technologically backward, militarily weak, and greatly dependant on the Arab monarchies and global financial institutions for bailouts.
Saying no to Washington at this point may be considered politically and diplomatically unwise for Islamabad. Recognising Israel could even improve Pakistan’s economic prospects and draw it closer to the US-Israel axis. Yet it is not an easy decision.
The Pakistan Army, which reigns supreme in the country’s politics and enjoys unbridled authority with no responsibility, will surely come under attack. More importantly, recognising Israel would solve none of Pakistan’s structural problems like political instability, China’s debt trap, civil-military imbalance, and the pre-eminence of non-state actors in security affairs.
Besides, an open tilt towards a US-led regional architecture designed partly to counter-balance China would upset Beijing to no limit.
Sooner or later, countries dealing with Pakistan will realise the futility of their strategic expectations from Islamabad and the hollowness of the failed state itself.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)
It’s a non-starter! The RSS/BJP were bitter when Pak took the negotiating initiative. Jaishankar called them “Dalal State”!! That was out of jealousy… Now, they’re celebrating as Trump has asked all Arab states to sign into the Abraham accord. It’s never going to happen. It’s like Modi’s India signing a peace treaty with Pakistan!!
What’s for goose,…