By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday the cabinet had cleared the way for the country to join the Board of Peace, an international group for Gaza, headed by US President Donald Trump.
Sharif told reporters outside the Pakistan High Commission in London that Pakistan got an invitation from Trump to become part of the board, and he went ahead with it after the cabinet gave its nod. “We signed with the hope that there will be peace in Gaza, that Palestinians will receive the respect they deserve, and that Gaza will be reconstructed,” Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.
On Thursday, leaders and top officials from 19 nations, Pakistan among them, stood with Trump on stage in Davos, Switzerland, to sign the founding document of the board. The group started out to handle peace in Gaza after Israel’s two-year genocide in the area, but the document lays out plans for dealing with other world disputes too.
Sharif said the crisis for people in Gaza needed fast action from the world, and he repeated Pakistan’s firm backing for the rights of Palestinians. He also mentioned a talk with Kristalina Georgieva, head of the International Monetary Fund, and said it went well. Sharif gave no specifics on what they discussed but added that Pakistan planned to keep working closely with global lenders to steady its economy.
He also said he expressed thanks to Trump for his part in “saving millions of lives in South Asia by ending the India-Pakistan war,” but he did not go into more detail.
In a separate appearance, Sharif’s adviser Rana Sanaullah said on a private television channel that the cabinet had backed the move to join the Board of Peace. “There was much discussion on this and the cabinet endorsed it. After the cabinet’s endorsement, the prime minister accepted this [invitation],” Sanaullah said. “The development happened in the past week to 10 days. Based on this, the government signed after consultations with the cabinet. I know this, I was in that consultation.”
Some politicians and experts have slammed the choice, calling it “unwise” and saying Pakistan moved too soon. In the National Assembly, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry stood up for it, saying Pakistan signed on to the group for Gaza’s reconstruction because it helped the Palestinians. The matter came up in a joint session of parliament on Friday, when Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, said the step came from “fear of Trump.” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal hit back for the government, saying it was a “diplomatic win” for Pakistan to stand front and center with other Muslim nations in efforts for peace in Gaza and Palestine.
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