Pakistan Naval Air Arm Alouette III . Photo: wiki commons.

In an interview given to the British newspaper The Sun, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain, spoke mainly about U.S. drone strikes inside his country, which he says kill dozens of women, children and other innocent bystanders.

Also on the agenda was Pakistan’s stance towards Israel and the Pakistani government’s expected response to an Israeli-Iranian military conflict.

“We would not like Israel to attack any country, irrespective of whether it’s Iran or any nuclear country. We wouldn’t like to be seen as part of Israel’s campaign against any country. If Israel attacks Iran, it will have an impact on Pakistan as well,” Hasan told The Sun.

Pakistan does not formally recognize Israel as a state and does not hold direct ties with Jerusalem.

Pervez Musharraf, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan currently living in London under self-imposed exile established a close but tenuous military relationship with the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, spoke to the Haaretz newspaper in Israel about Pakistani-Israeli relations earlier this year.

“I felt I needed to test the waters in Pakistan when it came to Israel. Yes. We have been anti-Israel in Pakistan because of Palestine, because the Pakistani people are on the side of the Palestinians and are concerned for their plight. Right from the beginning, from when we got our independence in ’47 and Israel came into reality a year later, we have been pro-Palestine,” he told Haaretz.

“But I believe in realism and in assessing ground realities. I think it’s necessary to understand the changing environment, analyze it – and respond. A lot has happened since ’48, and one has to adjust. Policies are made, yes, but when the environment changes, policies should change. Policies should not remain constant,” he continued.

Pakistan’s Shia Muslim population is somewhere between 10-20% and as Hasan points out, that would contribute to Pakistan’s response in supporting Iran during a confrontation.

“We will have to safeguard our own interests. We also have a Shia population in Pakistan who will not take it lying down,” he told the newspaper.