By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday vigorously defended its decision to join a US-led Board of Peace aimed at resolving the Gaza conflict, saying the move is a significant diplomatic achievement that places the country at the center of efforts alongside other Muslim nations to foster stability in the Palestinian territories.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, addressing a joint session of Parliament, said the step a “diplomatic win” that should be celebrated, even as opposition leaders lambasted it as a capitulation to American pressure and a potential threat to Palestinian interests.
The session, convened by President Asif Ali Zardari and presided over by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joined leaders from 19 countries in Davos to sign the founding charter of the board, an initiative first proposed by President Donald Trump last September to oversee post-conflict reconstruction in Gaza following Israel’s prolonged military campaign there.
The board’s mandate has since expanded, according to its charter, to address broader international disputes, a development that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures who argue it could inadvertently bolster Israel’s position.
Iqbal, speaking amid raucous protests from opposition benches, opened his remarks by invoking Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests as a symbol of the nation’s resolve. “We set an example of Pakistan’s liberty and sovereignty when the then-US president called five times […] Pakistan was being pressurised from the world, but we took the decision [to conduct the tests] with courage.” He pushed back against accusations of weakness, saying, “We don’t need to be taught about Pakistan’s defence and integrity. We are the defenders of Pakistan’s freedom and sovereignty.” Citing a recent four-day clash with India in May, he added that the government and armed forces had demonstrated their readiness to respond forcefully to threats. “So nobody can taunt that we are cowards and negligent.”
Iqbal acknowledged the deep anguish felt across Pakistan over the violence in the Palestinian enclave. “Our hearts have been wounded by the cruelty” witnessed there, he said, but emphasised that Muslim countries had collectively stepped forward to halt the bloodshed. He chided the opposition for rejecting what he called a peace that Palestinians themselves have embraced. “But Muslim countries took a collective initiative to end that bloodshed,” Iqbal continued, noting that critics would have decried isolation if Pakistan had opted out. “They would have questioned why Pakistan was not a part of that big an initiative of peace.”
Pakistan’s stance on a Palestinian state remains firm, Iqbal said. “We still believe that the state of Palestine is the right of the people of Palestine. Pakistan supported this in the past and, it supports it today as well.” The defense followed remarks a day earlier by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry in the National Assembly, who framed the move as serving the interests of Palestinians by aiding Gaza’s rebuilding.
Opposition voices, however, were unyielding. Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, speaking before Iqbal, condemned the government for bypassing Parliament. “The board will further add to the miseries of the people of Palestine. What Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu could not do will begin in the name of Board of Peace,” he said. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman accused the government of acting out of “fear of Trump,” saying the U.S. president was bolstering Israel at the expense of Muslim nations like Iran.
Earlier that day, JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza had filed an adjournment motion in the Senate, demanding debate on the decision, which he said violated parliamentary norms and contradicted the vision of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In a post on X, Murtaza highlighted the motion’s call to suspend normal business for discussion, criticizing the Foreign Ministry’s announcement as lacking cabinet or legislative input.
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