Radical Islamic groups in Pakistan are holding rallies outside mosques across the country today to condemn the first formal talks between Pakistan and Israel.
"We urge the people to fully participate in today's rallies to tell the rulers that we will not allow them to recognise Israel," said a spokesman for Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, an opposition coalition of six Islamic parties.
Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri yesterday met with his Israeli counterpart, Silvan Shalom, in Istanbul, Turkey.
The spokesman criticised Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for arranging yesterday's meeting without consulting parliament, and for planning to send a delegation to al-Quds in Jerusalem.
Pakistan, a Muslim country that in the past has taken a harder line against Israel than some Arab countries, met the Israelis following the removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, which was completed last week.
After yesterday's landmark meeting, Mr Musharraf told reporters that the government had made no decision to establish formal ties with Israel.
"Pakistan will not recognise Israel until the establishment of a free and independent state for the Palestinian people," he said, adding that the meeting "does not mean that we have recognised Israel".
Mr Musharraf has angered Pakistani opposition groups by calling for a debate on whether Pakistan should recognise the Jewish state, and he has agreed to speak at a Jewish interfaith conference in New York later this month.
PA