Pakistan’s refusal to join Abraham Accords reflects geopolitical sovereignty struggles and regional resistance to US-Israel normalization
Original framing: “Why Pakistan will likely refuse to join the Abraham Accords” — Middle East Eye
The Abraham Accords are part of a longer history of US-Israeli attempts to reshape Middle Eastern alliances, dating back to the 1978 Camp David Accords and the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty. Pakistan’s refusal echoes its 1980s stance under Zia-ul-Haq, who rejected normalization with Israel despite US pressure, and its 2000s alignment with the 'axis of resistance' led by Iran and Hezbollah. The Accords also revive colonial-era divisions, such as the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which framed Palestine as a site of external manipulation.
Pakistan’s refusal to join the Abraham Accords is not merely a political cost-benefit calculation but a reflection of deeper geopolitical struggles tied to postcolonial sovereignty, Islamic solidarity, and resistance to US-Israeli hegemony.
The mainstream narrative obscures how this stance is both a legacy of Jinnah’s anti-colonial vision and a tool for elite consolidation, while ignoring the structural pressures that bind Pakistan to Western geopolitics. Cross-culturally, Pakistan’s position aligns with broader Global South resistance to normalization, but it also reveals the diversity of responses, from pragmatic engagement in Southeast Asia to principled refusal in the Middle East. The solution pathways must therefore balance anti-colonial resistance with proactive solidarity, economic sovereignty with regional collaboration, and elite narratives with grassroots empowerment. By centering marginalized voices and decolonizing regional alliances, Pakistan could transform its refusal into a catalyst for a more just and multipolar world order.