Israel has rarely commented on the situation in Pakistan since the two countries were created at almost the same time in history. They do not share a border and have never had an armed confrontation or a territorial dispute. Yet they are now embroiled in a diplomatic spat.

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Pakistan, which was created as a Muslim state in 1947, never recognized Israel because its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was staunchly opposed to the creation of the Jewish state and because the majority of the newly born Muslim state hoped that by not recognizing Israel, it would reap foreign policy dividends from the Arab states it hoped would support it in its territorial dispute with India. The situation with the Arab states has changed, however, especially since the signing of the Abraham Accords.

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Nevertheless, Pakistani-Israeli relations seem to have reached a new low. On July 10, at the 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Israel expressed concern about the overall human rights situation in Pakistan.

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Adi Farjon, Israel’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, urged Pakistan to lift its ban on homosexuality and told the council that “Israel remains deeply concerned about the overall human rights situation in Pakistan, where enforced disappearances, torture, crackdowns on peaceful protest and violence against religious minorities and other marginalized groups remain prevalent.”

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And she is correct. Pakistan is a country with an abysmal record on human rights and religious freedom. The United States government classifies it as a “country of particular concern” due to “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”

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 The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom notes, “Religious freedom conditions across Pakistan continue to trend negatively. The systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws, and authorities’ failure to address forced conversions of religious minorities — including Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs — to Islam, severely restrict freedom of religion or belief.”

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The response to Israel’s criticism from Pakistan’s Foreign Office was as expected: it dismissed the critique as being politically motivated and released a statement saying: “Given the long history of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, Pakistan certainly does not see any need for Israeli advice in protecting human rights.”

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Has Pakistan missed the boat in forging relations with Israel? Pakistan’s former military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, openly mused about building ties with Israel and even began negotiations behind the scenes. However, fearing the Islamist outcry and backlash, those plans were later abandoned.

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The military that holds the real power in Pakistan built a security state based on two foundational pillars: enmity with India and Islamist ideology. Islamist sentiments were whipped up by the state at every possible opportunity, including over the Palestine issue. The forced indoctrination of Pakistani society by the military now makes it very difficult to lead a peace initiative with Israel, a country that has been branded as Pakistan’s arch-enemy.

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Nevertheless, it’s not too late for the Pakistani government to change course. Given the state of Pakistan’s economy and the economic benefits that have been experienced by the countries that have entered the Abraham Accords, it would make sense for Pakistan to put its past grievances aside and work toward normalizing relations with the State of Israel.