TEL AVIV: Israel’s newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, has claimed that despite the fact the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has denounced Israel in public, the truth is that he is in favour of the normalization of relations with the Jewish state.

The newspaper has backed claims made by the Times of Israel stating that Imran Khan despite his public anti-Israel stance has internally expressed a desire to normalize relations between Pakistan and Israel.

According to the article, Imran Khan would play a crucial role in building ties with Israel as he could change public opinion and military policy on this matter.

PTI govt had refused to recognise Israel despite pressure: IK

The paper is of the view that Imran’s and Israel’s viewpoints are identical. The Jerusalem Post has proved the claims of the Times of Israel right.

The report labelled Imran Khan as a “like-minded politician” for Israel and suggested that his political success in recent elections offers an opportunity to re-evaluate Pakistan-Israel relations.

Furthermore, the paper writes that the former prime minister’s party, PTI’s reasonably good performance in the February 8 general elections provides an opportunity to review the relations between Pakistan and Israel afresh.

The Jerusalem Post opines that the Pakistan Army has been opposed to détente between the two countries for a long time now.

The paper pins hope on the PTI founder that he can change the public perception of Israel.

Similarly, The Jerusalem Post predicts that former US president Donald Trump’s return to the White House may speed up the pace of normalization of relations between Pakistan and Israel.

Likewise, it says that by normalizing its ties with Israel, Pakistan could reap many economic benefits.

“Pakistan could reap benefits in various sectors including agriculture, cybersecurity, defense and financial investment with recognising Israel,” Israel’s newspaper stated.