Israeli Ministry of Tourism Director General Michael Izhakov was filmed shaking hands with the Advisor to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Tourism, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, during an international exhibition in London.
Kan News reported that the meeting was the subject of much intrigue, given that Israel and Pakistan do not have formal relations.
While the second most populous Muslim country in the world does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, in recent years, there have been reports of indirect contacts and a cautious shift in approach. Pakistan has lately been listed among the countries that are predicted to join the international force that will operate in Gaza after the war.
In the 1990s, after the signing of the Oslo Accords, there was a positive shift in Pakistan's approach, and several voices in the country supported considering diplomatic ties with Israel. This being said, the Pakistani government made clear at the time that the matter would proceed once Israel and the Arab states reached a diplomatic agreement.
In 2016, a joint military exercise was held in the United States for the first time, with Pakistani forces participating alongside IDF representatives. That same year, reports surfaced of a rare meeting between then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and then-Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.