Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday indicated that the Gaza peace plan unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier was not the one approved by eight Muslim countries—even though Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already expressed his “welcome” for the initiative.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Dar said the plan “issued by the U.S.” was “not our document.” Maintaining that the Muslim countries who had backed the proposal—Turkiye, Pakistan, Qatar, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Jordan, Egypt—had wanted “some key areas” covered, he claimed that they would be “covered” in future.
The foreign minister’s presser came amidst mounting criticism over the plan, which appears to place the onus for disarming on the Palestinians, while requiring no fixed deliverables from aggressor Israel. It has also caused significant discontent within Pakistan, as Trump has claimed both P.M. Sharif and Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir support it “100%.”
Dar, who also holds the status of deputy prime minister, said Pakistan’s stance was outlined in the joint statement issued by the eight Muslim countries. He further clarified that the independent technocrat government for Gaza proposed by the plan would be mostly comprised of Palestinians. To a question, he said the makeup of troops comprising the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) was still under consideration.
“On the ground, there will be Palestinian law-enforcement agencies … there will be forces supporting them. Indonesia has offered 20,000 troops for that. I am sure Pakistan’s leadership will also be making a decision on this,” he said, stressing this force would solely function in Gaza and proceed under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council.
Negotiations process
The minister said one of the primary aims of Pakistan’s participation in the U.N. General Assembly was to achieve a means to end the “misery in Gaza.” He said the eight listed countries, including Pakistan, had agreed to raise the issue with Trump, focusing on achieving a ceasefire, resuming humanitarian aid, and halting forced displacement of Palestinians.
He said the U.S. president had assured the Muslim leaders he would devise a “workable solution” to achieve this, adding further details were “classified.” The proposal signed on by the eight states, he said, was finalized by five states, with Saudi Arabia subsequently seeking the support of Pakistan, Indonesia and the U.A.E. He said he had proposed some changes, which were included in a revised document that was referred to in the joint statement.
To a question, Dar emphasized that Pakistan had not deviated from its longstanding policy of seeking a two-state solution to end the conflict. He also rebuffed claims the deal was akin to Pakistan recognizing Israel. “If we had to deal with Israel, we would have done it directly. We dealt with the United States, and the United States dealt with Israel,” he said.
Supporting Dar’s statement, U.S. news portal Axios reported that the deal presented by Trump was significantly different from the one agreed by the Muslim states. It said the changes were implemented at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s urging, including removing a timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and granting it “veto” over the process. It claimed Qatar had assured the Muslim states it would continue discussions with the U.S. to have some of the provisions of the original plan reverted.
UNGA developments
Summarizing Pakistan’s diplomacy during the UNGA, the foreign minister noted the prime minister had raised the issue of Palestine as well as India’s violations of the Indus Waters Treaty. P.M. Sharif also met the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and participated in sessions on sustainable development goals and climate challenges.
As foreign minister, he said, he attended nine high-level meetings and over 20 bilateral engagements.