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| How did Pakistani fruits and spices reach the markets of Israel? |
"Pakistani fruits, dates, and spices in the Israeli market." This claim was made by Fishle Ben Khalid along with a video on social media, which was quite surprising for many users.
It should be noted that according to Fischal Ben Khalid, he is a Jew from Pakistan who supports Pakistan's relations with Israel.
However, Pakistan does not recognize Israel and the text on Pakistan's passport states that this passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.
However, Fishal has visited Israel in the past and he is not the only Pakistani to do so.
In 2022, Pakistani journalist Ahmed Qureshi visited Israel along with a delegation of Pakistani-American citizens, during which the delegation visited important places including the Israeli Parliament House, and met with important personalities including the Israeli President. Fishle Ben Khalid was also included in this delegation.
There was a lot of criticism in Pakistan of this visit, however, Ahmad Qureshi told BBC that he went to Israel as a civilian on a Pakistani passport and that the government or the army had nothing to do with his visit.
How did Pakistani products reach Israel?
According to Fishle Ben Khalid's account, he is related to the kosher food industry of Pakistan.
Kosher food is food prepared according to the beliefs of the Jewish religion, as Muslims believe in halal food.
Along with his video, Fishal wrote that "I am happy as a Pakistani that I have exported the first batch of Pakistan's food products to the Israeli market."
In the video, it can be seen that various fruits, spices, and dates are displayed at a stall with inscriptions and prices in Hebrew.
In his post, Fischal also tagged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto as well as Maryam Nawaz, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
Bibi contacted Fishal to find out how he managed to do this even though Pakistan and Israel do not have diplomatic relations but did not receive a response.
When common users asked questions on this post of his how it was possible, he wrote in reply that it was a very difficult task.
According to him, he had several meetings with three Israeli businessmen in Dubai and Germany after which this became possible.
He said that the quality of Pakistani products was good and the price was reasonable, but this was the first experimental batch.
According to him, quality assurance, product packaging, and completing the shipping process were also difficult steps.
A social media user asked him about the reaction to Pakistani products in Israel, and in response, Fishle Ben Khalid said that the quality of Pakistani products was acceptable in Israel, but there is room for improvement.
"The reaction of the Israeli buyers was like any normal buyer who needs quality products at a reasonable price," he wrote.
Another user asked whether they used a Pakistani bank or transacted through a foreign method. In response, Fishel said that the "Israeli government and ordinary buyers have no problem in doing business with Pakistan."
When a user wrote that it was a great first step, Fishel replied, "Actually, I'm not the first person to do this, but it's definitely a first step for me."
A customer asked Fishal if he sent these products directly from Karachi to Israel or via UAE or Turkey.
Fishle did not answer this question.
In such a situation, several users were also seen taking business advice from Fischal.
Another Pakistani customer asked him how dates can be sold abroad from Pakistan and he wrote that it is not a difficult task, it depends on the quality and price.
One user wrote that Pakistan should do the same after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates established relations with Israel.
Who is Fishle Ben Khalid?
Fishle Bin Khalid belongs to Karachi. A few years ago, he requested the government of Pakistan to issue him a Pakistani passport as a Jew.
Fishal was quite active on social media and supported diplomatic and trade relations between Pakistan and Israel.
Last year he also visited Israel where he met with the Israeli president and officials along with a delegation.
According to his account, he belongs to the Jewish community in Karachi, whose numbers have been steadily decreasing since the creation of Pakistan.
According to a report in the Times of Israel, Fishel says that his mother was Jewish, but according to the same report, Fishel's brothers reject this claim and say that their parents were Muslims.
The report also interviewed Fischl, which said that his mother died when he was only nine years old and that he had no documentary evidence that she was Jewish, but that It is remembered that she believed in Jewish beliefs.
The controversial history of Pakistan and Israel
Due to the anti-Israel sentiment in Pakistan, every government faces pressure to not recognize Israel, and if the rulers show any lenience in this regard, they have to face severe criticism.
In the past, Pakistani authorities have been accused of having secret links with Israel bIt seems
Proposals to improve relations with Israel in Pakistan came out during the tenure of former military president Pervez Musharraf, then people accused the former president of being friendly with Israel.
Former Ambassador Asif Durrani told BBC on May 16 that Pakistan has no direct conflict with Israel and Israel never makes direct statements against Pakistan. According to them, a good relationship is beneficial.
According to Asif Durrani, India made relations with Israel more integrated in 1992 and if Pakistan had also improved relations at that time, it would have had a good effect.
According to the former ambassador, 36 out of 57 Islamic countries have good diplomatic relations with Israel.
Narrating the details of his meeting with Israeli embassies in New York, Asif Durrani said that according to Israeli diplomats, if Pakistan recognizes Israel, the rest of the Islamic countries will also recognize them.
According to the former ambassador, Pakistan has its own arguments for and against relations with Israel, due to which this debate will not reach a final conclusion soon.