NEW YORK, Jan 7: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan's relationship with the strong Jewish lobby in the US can help Islamabad in its conflict with India. In an exclusive interview with Israeli daily Haaretz published on Saturday,

Mr Musharraf said that getting closer to Israel would be in the interest of Pakistan as “Israel has always been pro-India against Pakistan”.

The general, who gave the interview in London, said during his time in office he defied popular sentiment in Pakistan when he shook hands with former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon at the UN, spoke to the American Jewish Congress as the head of the state and sent then foreign minister Khurshid Mahmoud Kasuri to meet the then Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom in Istanbul.

“I felt I needed to test the waters in Pakistan when it comes to Israel. Yes, we have been anti-Israel in Pakistan because of Palestine, because the Pakistani people are on the side of the Palestinians and concerned for (sic) their plight. Right from the beginning, from when we got our independence in 1947 and Israel came into reality a year later, we have been pro-Palestine.

“But I believe in realism and in assessing ground realities. I think it's necessary to understand the changing environment, analyse it – and respond. A lot has happened since '48, and one has to adjust. Policies are made, yes, but when the environment changes, policies should change. Policies should not remain constant,” he said.

Pointing towards a commonality between Israel and Pakistan, Mr Musharraf said they both owed their origin in religion. “Pakistan, like Israel, is an ideological state. That is the foundation of our creation. We are an Islamic republic.”

He said: “Israel is a fait accompli. A lot of the Muslim world has understood that and I know many Muslim countries have relations with Israel, whether above board or covertly. So this is the change in reality I am talking about.

“Pakistan has to keep demanding the resolution of the Palestinian dispute... [but] Pakistan also needs to keep readjusting its diplomatic stand towards Israel based on the mere fact that it exists and is not going away.”

The former military ruler, who is planning to return to Pakistan in coming weeks, said: “There is always a risk in any new initiative. You can never be sure [what the reaction will be]. But a leader who is not prepared to take risks is not a leader. I believe that leaders should generally flow with public opinion. But there are times and issues where the public opinion goes astray, or is anchored in wrong premises – and to change that is the leader's job.”