Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf defended on Saturday his government's talks with Israel, saying this was in accordance with the tenets of Islam.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri on Thursday met with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul in the first publicly acknowledged high-level contact between the predominantly Muslim nation and the Jewish state.
Mr Musharraf said Islam allowed its followers to engage with people of other faiths.
"Islam is a religion of peace and it has lived in peace and harmony with other faiths for centuries and can do so in future as well," an official statement quoted him as saying while speaking to Kasuri, who returned home on Saturday.
Mr Musharraf reiterated Pakistan would not recognize Israel until a Palestinian state was established.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who was also present in the meeting, said Pakistan would decide about the recognition of Israel "in the supreme national interest after due consultations."
The government's decision to open talks was prompted by Israel's removal of settlers from Gaza last month.
Both Mr Musharraf and Mr Aziz said Pakistan wanted to play a "positive role" for the settlement of the Palestinian dispute.
The foreign ministry said Mr Musharraf had no plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit to New York this month to attend the U.N. General Assembly.
However, he would address the American Jewish Congress in New York as part of Pakistan's efforts to promote interfaith harmony among various religions, it said in a statement.
Contacts with Israel have been a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Hardline Islamists in the past bitterly opposed Mr Musharraf when he called for a national debate on the question of recognition of Israel.