Amid an outcry by the opposition in the National Assembly, the government on Thursday defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by US President Donald Trump, saying it was taken in the interest of the Palestinian people.
Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after Israel’s two-year war on the Palestinian enclave, the Board of Peace’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts.
A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries — including Pakistan — gathered on stage on Thursday with Trump at a signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, to put their names to the founding charter of the body.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said Pakistan had a principled position on the Palestine issue and always raised it at international forums.
He said Pakistan’s decision to join the board was guided by national interest and the collective priorities of the Muslim Ummah, not political considerations.
He noted that UN Security Council resolutions called for a permanent ceasefire and reconstruction of Gaza, adding that Pakistan’s participation in the board aimed to support these efforts while safeguarding both Palestinian and national interests.
He stressed that the matter should not be reduced to political point-scoring, urging unity and consensus in the House.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman warned against becoming part of any campaign to disarm Hamas. He said that those responsible for the Palestinians’ plight were part of the board.
“Expecting peace from Trump tantamounts to living in [a] fool’s paradise,” he said on the floor of the house.
He highlighted that Trump was the board’s chairman and appointed members at his own discretion, while also noting that he had abducted the Venezuelan president and his spouse.
“We must not accept the Board of Peace under any circumstances. No so-called peace board in the form of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is acceptable at all,” he stressed.
He said that Gaza was continuing to be bombed and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Netanyahu would sit “shoulder to shoulder” on this board.
Fazl highlighted that more than 70,000 civilians were killed by Israel during its two-year onslaught in the Gaza Strip, adding, “If anyone has seen so many corpses in a single year, it is the Palestinians”.
The JUI-F chief said that over 100,000 Palestinians had died of hunger and over 150,000 had been rendered homeless. He regretted that Pakistan’s policies were “formed under international pressure”.
“We have never formulated our foreign policy purely for our own national interest,” he remarked.
He also questioned why parliament was not consulted on the decision to join the board.
“It is the government’s duty to inform [parliament] about the decisions it is making,” he emphasised. “If you do not take the house into confidence, fine; but did you at least take the cabinet into confidence?”
Noting that the board was formed despite the existence of the United Nations and its Security Council, Fazal questioned whether it amounted to a parallel authority.
“Wherever they [US] go in the name of peace, they leave destruction behind,” Fazl said. “They turned Afghanistan into ruins, Iraq into ruins. They came to Libya and devastated it; to this day, it has not recovered.”
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also regretted that PM Shehbaz had joined the Board of Peace without any consultation.
“Yesterday, the Foreign Office stated that it had joined the Board of Peace. The government ignored the house,” Gohar said, stressing that Parliament must be informed about the conditions of joining the board.
“Will you play any role in disarming Hamas?” he asked. “If it were a United Nations body, the government could have acted on its own. The Board of Peace is not a United Nations body.”
PTI urges govt to withdraw paticipation, hold consultative process
Speaking to Dawn, PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser said that it was unfortunate that the government did not bother to take such a sensitive decision with consensus.
“They should have at least discussed it in parliament to give a false impression to the global community that we have democracy in Pakistan,” he said.
Qaiser said that there could be severe repercussions of joining the board as it would compromise Pakistan’s ties with other Muslim countries and the people of Palestine.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told Dawn that the hearts of Pakistani people beat with the hearts of the Palestinian people.
“There is not a single Palestinian representative on the Board of Peace. Any decision that will not be acceptable to the Palestinians will not be acceptable to the PTI,” he said.
“It seems that Trump has ambitions which go beyond Gaza,” he said. He said the US president wanted to bypass the United Nations and use the board for “his own plans”.
The PTI also issued a statement, which said that the party did not accept the government’s decision to join the Board of Peace.
The party emphasised that decisions of international significance should always be made following consultations with all major political stakeholders and with full transparency.
“The government should at least have discussed such a major decision openly within the available parliamentary structures before moving forward,” the statement, posted on X, said.
The party added that Pakistan’s participation in any international peace initiative should “complement and reinforce the United Nations’ multilateral system”, rather than creating parallel power structures that could adversely affect global governance.
“Under former prime minister Imran Khan’s leadership, [the] PTI has consistently emphasised that Pakistan’s foreign policy must safeguard national sovereignty, uphold constitutional norms, and reflect a broad national consensus,” the party said.
It added that the PTI stood with Palestinians and, as such, “will not accept any plans against the wishes of the people of Palestine”.
“We are deeply saddened and concerned by the atrocities and oppression they continue to face, and we strongly desire that the Palestinian people achieve their freedom and secure their legitimate rights,” the PTI added, reiterating its stance on the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital.
It added that this position was articulated by party founder Imran during his tenure as prime minister and reflected Pakistan’s commitment to human rights and international law.
“[The] PTI calls upon the government of Pakistan to withdraw any formal participation in the Board of Peace until a complete consultative process has been conducted,” the PTI said, outlining the various steps of the process.
These included thorough parliamentary scrutiny and debate, consultation with all major political leadership — including Imran — and conducting a referendum on the board’s membership “to ensure public confidence”.
“[The] PTI reiterates that Pakistan must continue to act as a responsible, principled, and peace-oriented nation, whose global engagements reflect dignity and legality, consistent with the charter of the United Nations and are based on national consensus,” the party concluded.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, in his own post on X, also slammed the government’s decision, calling its haste “not only inappropriate but also beyond comprehension”.
“It was the government’s responsibility to take parliament into confidence on this important matter and inform it of all details, which has not been done,” he said.
He reiterated Imran and the party’s “absolutely clear and unequivocal” position that the PTI would not support any agreement that violated the rights of the Palestinian people, or which the Palestinian people reject.
Speaking to Dawn separately, Senator Zafar said, “In my view, [this] is such an important step, with far-reaching consequences for the nation, [that] cannot and must not be decided unilaterally by the executive or the federal government alone.
“A decision that affects the future direction of Pakistan, its foreign policy, and its moral standing must be taken by parliament, representing the collective will of the people,” he emphasised.
The senator noted that there are two competing viewpoints on this issue.
“One maintains that by joining this force, Pakistan may be indirectly facilitating the broader strategic objectives of Israel and thereby becoming complicit in the subjugation of the Palestinian people,” he explained.
“According to this perspective, Pakistan should not become part of such a force.
“The other view is that the Palestinians themselves are calling for assistance, and that this is a moment when Muslim countries must stand together,” Zafar stated.
He added that proponents of this view argue that since countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are reportedly part of the force, Pakistan should also participate in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Replying to a question, Zafar said: “Before deciding which view is correct, all relevant facts must be placed before parliament, so that the nation may reach a collective, informed decision.”
He noted that critical questions remain unanswered, such as who is in command of the Board, its terms and conditions, Pakistan’s precise role and whether or not the Palestinians have requested Pakistan’s help.
“What conditions, if any, are being imposed upon Israel?” he asked. “What are Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and other participating countries conveying diplomatically? What are the strategic, legal, and moral implications for Pakistan?
He emphasised that these and many other questions must be answered transparently before any final decision is made.
“Ultimately, the first priority must be the best interests of Pakistan; namely, its sovereignty, security, constitutional order, and long-term foreign policy objectives,” Zafar stated.
“The second, inseparable priority must be the legitimate rights and welfare of the Palestinian people.”
He stressed that only parliament has the constitutional legitimacy to weigh these interests and decide on such a momentous issue.
Additional input from APP
