India won't come in way of Israel-Pak ties: Krishna

Jerusalem, Jan 11 (PTI) India has said it is up to Israel and Pakistan to decide the kind of ties they want to have after former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf suggested establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish nation to counter its "pro-India" policy. "I think it is between Israel and Pakistan to decide what kind of relationship they want to establish, as much as it is between Israel and India to decide what kind of relationship we want to establish", India's Foreign Minister S M Krishna said at a press conference here Tuesday answering a question on the issue. He said it is upto Jerusalem to decide on the issue and New Delhi will not come on the way. "We will certainly not come in the way of Israel having its relationship with any other country because each relationship stands ultimately on the values on which we stand for," the Minister, who is on a two-day visit here to mark 20 years of the establishment of India-Israeli diplomatic ties. However, Krishna said that India and Israel have a lot in common, being two democracies that are governed by rule of law and adult suffrage among many other things. "So we would certainly like Israel to look into all these", he added. The former Pakistani president in an interview to daily Ha'aretz last weekend had said it would be in Pakistan's interest to get closer to Israel to counter the "pro-India" stand usually adopted by Israel. He said closer ties with Israel could help Pakistan in countering India on the Kashmir dispute. Musharraf had said the Jewish state is a fait accompli and relations with it can help Islamabad come closer to the strong Jewish lobby in the US. The influential Jewish lobby takes a strong anti-Pakistan stand on Kashmir because of Israel's close ties with New Delhi, he had said. PTI