Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday asserted on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan on Gaza was “not our document”.
The “document has been issued by the US”, he said during a press conference in Islamabad, seemingly distancing the Pakistan government from the plan.
“This is not our document, which we sent to them. There are some key areas that we want covered … If they are not covered, they will be covered” he said, adding that the immediate objectives of the plan were to ensure a ceasefire, “stop the blood, let the humanitarian aid flow and end forced displacement”.
Consider Trump’s announcement of the 20-point plan as “an announcement from their”, he added.
“We have issued a joint statement on behalf of eight countries [that held a meeting with Trump in New York last week]. We own this. If there is any difference anywhere, we would go by — we are committed to this (joint statement).” he emphasised.
The meeting held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, where Trump discussed his plan for ending the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, had brought together leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye and Indonesia.
Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had expressed optimism about the meeting’s outcomes and welcomed Trump’s plan as the US president met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House yesterday. In a joint press conference following that, Trump had announced Netanyahu’s agreement to the 20-point plan and particularly thanked PM Shehbaz and army chief Asim Munir for their support.
‘Yet to decide on sending troops’
Earlier in the press conference, Dar outlined PM Shehbaz’s and his own engagements on the sidelines of the UNGA session.
He said the visit of Pakistan’s delegation to the US had two main purposes — one pertaining to activities at the UNGA and the other to work with some “like-minded countries” on trying to end the misery in Gaza as a “member of the Muslim ummah”.
“The prime minister was very clear [about it]. We had had consultations before leaving [for the US] as well. And eight countries, including Pakistan, agreed to take up this matter very proactively with President Trump during the US visit,” he said.
Dar said a preparatory meeting was held before Muslim leaders’ moot with Trump.
He added that the meeting with Trump was held with the objectives to try for a ceasefire in Gaza, make arrangements for sending humanitarian aid to the strip without any hurdles, stop the forced displacement of Palestinians and make arrangements for the return of those displaced from the Gaza, plan for Gaza’s reconstruction and stop Israel’s attempts to annex the West Bank.
“When these objectives were conveyed to him (Trump) and he was asked to work with us on achieving them,” Dar said, adding that the US president then proposed that his team would devise a “workable solution” with the foreign ministers of the eight Muslim countries that participated in the meeting.
He said it was decided that the details of meetings held in this regard would be “secret” and “classified”.
After sharing further details of how the proposal for ending the Israeli onslaught in Gaza was finalised, Dar said he had received messages from the Saudi foreign minister yesterday.
“He told me that five countries had reached a consensus on joint statement [regarding the Gaza plan] and that our agreement was needed on this matter as well, and that they had also reached out to Indonesia and the UAE.
“I then consulted the foreign secretary and proposed some changes. I spoke to the Saudi foreign minister again … as I had some objections … He then send me a revised version … and the joint statement was released.”
Dar highlighted that the Palestinian Authority had also welcomed the statement.
“On the one hand, the Palestinian Authority is welcoming this and on the other, [some over here] are criticising it,” he continued, apparently referring to strong reactions from some quarters to Trump’s peace plan.
Asked whether Pakistan would be deploying any troops in Gaza under the 20-point plan, he replied: “The idea is to have an independent Palestinian government of technocrats there. Then there will be an international oversight body, which, too, will mostly comprise Palestinians. Or, as you know, Tony Blair has been making efforts in this regard. He hasn’t been successful till now, but he might get an opportunity now.
“The force [here] is peace-keeping force. On ground, there will be Palestinian law-enforcement agencies … there will be [separate] 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.
“And we have asked them to document the arrangement, whatever it is, at the [UN] Security Council … This will be a special force only for Gaza.”
Asked to assure that “you still believe in the two-state solution”, he said Pakistan’s policy was clear and unchanged on Gaza. “And I rather would say the seven other countries are also with us on this.”
To another question, he asserted that there would be no compromise on stopping the annexation of the West Bank.
Asked whether Israel would “own” Trump plan, he said the sole reason the US had been involved in the matter was to ensure this.
More to follow
