Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, after years in self-imposed exile. The former army chief, 79, who was pushed from power in 2008, was the first Pakistani leader to hint at the possibility of relations with Jerusalem, a subject which is still largely taboo in the Muslim-majority nation. The former four-star general, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and attempted to usher in socially liberal values in the conservative Muslim country. Musharraf enjoyed strong support for many years, his greatest threat al-Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to kill him at least three times. But his heavy-handed use of the military to quell dissent as well as his continued backing of the United States in its fight against al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall. Allowed abroad for medical treatment even as he faced a treason case in Pakistan, Musharraf last flew to Dubai in 2016. Israel and Pakistan have made overtures to each other in the past, most notably when the country’s foreign ministers met in Istanbul in 2005 following Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. During that meeting, which was initiated by Musharraf, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri spoke of the difficulty the Pakistani government has with public opinion – under the influence of the Islamic parties, the public rejects the idea of talks with Israel. Until that point, Islamabad and Jerusalem had for years maintained dialogue through several back-channels, including via Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and through their ambassadors at the UN, in New York and Geneva, although such talks were reportedly thin on content. "I felt I needed to test the waters in Pakistan when it came to Israel. Yes. We've 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,” Musharraf told Haaretz in 2012 – referring to a statement he made during a speech to the American Jewish Congress in 2005. “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 shouldn't remain constant,” he said, calling Israel “a fait accompli. ” “Pakistan has to keep demanding the resolution of the Palestinian dispute … [but] Pakistan also needs to keep readjusting its diplomatic stand toward Israel based on the mere fact that it exists and isn't going away. ” Musharraf’s tentative exploration of recognition based on a conclusion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict faced an intense domestic backlash, however, and there hasn’t been any major public push to bring the countries closer, even as Israel has tightened ties in recent years with India. Antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric is common in Pakistan and every Pakistani passport includes a warning in bold letters that it is valid for all countries except Israel. During a 2021 interview with CNN, Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged that Israel had "deep pockets" and "they control the media. ” Musharraf also indulged in such conspiratorial thinking, telling Haaretz that “because of Jewish influence, the U. S. is totally pro-Israel,” although he framed this as a potential benefit for his country, explaining that Israel and “the Jewish community [have] clout in the media, in the U. S. and elsewhere” and that “there's nothing to lose by trying to get on Israel's good side. ” There is still intense opposition to recognition of Israel and last year prominent journalist Ahmed Quraishi was fired after participating as part of a delegation of mostly Pakistani expatriates living in America that travelled to Israel. Among those who assailed the visit was Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician who was voted out of office in April. Khan claimed the visit to Jerusalem meant to pave the way for Pakistan’s eventual recognition of Israel – something the delegation denied. Several months later, Dr. Nassim Ashraf, a former Pakistani minister of state for human development , visited Israel on another delegation organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC) and Sharaka, an NGO founded in the wake of the Abraham Accords to embed people-to-people normalization between Israel and Muslim-majority states. Speaking with Haaretz, Ashraf stated that he believed that if Israel took “tangible steps” toward reaching a two-state solution with the Palestinians, that could easily pave the way toward the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Israel. “I personally believe that it would clinch the deal, and all the hostility toward Israel in Pakistan would be cleared away,” said Ashraf, who served under Musharraf and currently resides in Washington, D. C. Reuters contributed to this report. .