Pakistani-Israeli contacts are a hint of what could be

5th Sep 2005, 17:31 GMT

Whether it is called a gift, a reward, daring probe, an incentive, a reckless mistake, or a historical inevitability, the Pakistani foreign minister's meeting with his Israeli counterpart in Istanbul Thursday was certainly significant. It should be understood as both a sign of what can be, and a consequence, in large part, of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.