From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Pakistan denies it has trade ties with Israel after businessman touts export
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Pakistan denies rumors of trade with Israel following a Jewish businessman’s tweet about successfully exporting food samples to Jerusalem and Haifa.
Fishel Benkhald, a Pakistani Jew based in the southern port city of Karachi, went viral for tweeting about his first kosher food shipment to Israel. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties.
“Congratulations to me as a Pakistani. I exported the first batch of Pakistan food products to Israel market,” he said last week.
Congratulation to Me as a Pakistani
I exported first batch of Pakistan ???????? food products to Israel ???????? market
Dates, Dry fruit, Spice single container. My video@CMShehbaz @ImranKhanPTI @BBhuttoZardari @NawazSharifMNS @MaryamNSharif @betterpakistan @MiftahIsmail @tdap_official pic.twitter.com/l4KRqI4oet
— Fishel BenKhald (@Jew_Pakistani) March 28, 2023
Benkhald shared a video clip showing his visit to an Israeli market. He walks past stalls with containers of dates, dried fruit and spices with product tags in Hebrew.
Pakistan denies having any diplomatic or trade relations with Israel. “There is no change in the policy,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch tells media in response to queries about bilateral trade.
Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry says rumors of bilateral trade are “sheer propaganda.”
“Neither do we have any trade relations with Israel nor do we intend to develop any,” it says in a statement.
The Times of Israel Community.