ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said Pakistan was ready to commit its troops to the Gaza peace force but distanced the country from any role in disarming the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
A cornerstone of the United States-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision.
Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”.
According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission.
Last week, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza. The plan also authorises the ISF for the Palestinian enclave.
Thirteen UNSC members, including Pakistan, voted in favour of the resolution, while Russia and China abstained. However, Hamas rejected the resolution and also decried the establishment of an international force whose “mission includes the disarmament” of Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza.
The foreign minister said the matter of Hamas’ disarmament first came up during a meeting in Riyadh on the two-state solution. The foreign minister was speaking at a press conference held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We are not ready for that. This is not our job, but of the Palestinian law enforcement agencies. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement. We are definitely ready to contribute to the force — the prime minister has in principle already announced after consultation with the field marshal that we will contribute — but this decision can not be taken until it is decided what its [ISF] mandate and TOR (terms of reference) will be.”
“As per my information, if it will include disarming Hamas, then even my Indonesian counterpart has informally expressed his reservation.”
Dar said he was present at the initial talks when the matter of the force was raised, adding that Indonesia had offered 20,000 troops and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also signalled “in principle” that Pakistan would positively consider its participation.
The matter of any supposed role of Pakistan in disarming Hamas had elicited anger from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif last month, who had rubbished and strongly condemned contentious remarks by government spokesperson Danyal Chaudhry that the force’s mandate would include disarmament of Hamas.
Talking about the ISF, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad had said at the UNSC vote that it could be stabilising only if it operated under a clear UN-consistent mandate. Disarmament, he had said, must be carried out through a negotiated political process under a unified Palestinian National Authority.
The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Board of Peace, envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee the reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza.
It also authorises the ISF, which would ensure a process of demilitarising Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure.
Trump’s 20-point plan is included as an annexe to the resolution.
The Gaza Strip has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of Israel’s onslaught.
The resolution’s text also says that “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” once the Palestinian Authority has carried out a reform programme and Gaza’s redevelopment has advanced.
That eventuality has already been firmly rejected by Israel.
The foreign minister also talked at length about the recent flare-up and deterioration of bilateral ties with Afghanistan.
Referring to retaliatory action by Pakistan following terror attacks carried out by Afghan nationals in the country, the foreign minister said it was a mistake of the Taliban authorities to believe that Pakistan could not sort out the situation itself, saying the country had ample kinetic capabilities, but it would not be a “desirable” course of action to invade a brotherly country and neutralise problematic elements.
“The situation was possibly leading to that stage when this issue began. Qatar is a country whose foreign ministry was contacting me hourly at that time,” he said, adding that the Qatari prime and foreign minister was in touch with him “every hour”.
“They found out that we were about to take kinetic action. They requested that ‘please stop your side and we will mediate, take responsibility and get the issue resolved.’”
FM Dar added that he was grateful to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the army chief for accepting his stance and “the cleanup operation that was about to happen that night — that would have surely taught them a lesson — was stopped”.
Despite that, he said nothing was gained from the negotiations mediated by Qatar and Turkiye, adding that the mediators were themselves frustrated by the lack of progress in the talks.
He urged Kabul’s authorities that “dialogue and diplomacy” were the only way to resolve current issues and called on the Afghan Taliban regime to reflect on its weaknesses and faults.
Referring to the shooting of two US National Guards by an Afghan national and attacks on Chinese workers in Tajikistan from Afghanistan, Dar warned that “the time is not far when Muslims and non-Muslims will unite to eliminate this terrorism”.
He said it was better for regional players to purge the area of terrorism before such a moment arrived.
The foreign minister elaborated that there was a divide in the Taliban ranks between the peacemakers and the warmongers.
Dar further said that he was working to restore delivery of relief goods, food and essential humanitarian aid “for the sake of the Afghan people” on the request of the United Nations, adding that he had secured the army chief’s nod and PM Shehbaz’s approval was awaited.
