‘Diplomatic win that should be celebrated’: Ahsan Iqbal defends govt’s decision to join Trump-led Board of Peace

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal defended on Friday the government’s decision to join US President Donald Trump-led Board of Peace, saying that Pakistan being at the “centre stage” along with its brother Muslim countries to contribute towards peace in Gaza and Palestine was a “diplomatic win”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among the leaders and senior officials of 19 countries, including Pakistan, who gathered in Davos on Thursday and put their names to the founding charter of the Board of Peace — a move that has been denounced by the opposition.

Trump had originally proposed establishing the board when he announced his plan last September to end the onslaught in Gaza. It was originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after Israel’s two-year onslaught on the Palestinian enclave, but the board’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts.

The matter was debated in a joint session of Parliament today, which was summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari a day earlier, and was presided over by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

Arguing in defence of the government’s decision to join the board during the session, Iqbal said this “diplomatic win” should be celebrated.

He began his speech by recalling nuclear tests by Pakistan in 1998. “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 said.

Amid noisy protest from the opposition benches, he asserted, “We don’t need to be taught about Pakistan’s defence and integrity. We are the defenders of Pakistan’s freedom and sovereignty.”

He went on to emphatically state that with the PML-N in power, “there can be no danger to Pakistan’s integrity and sovereignty.”

Iqbal said the government and armed forces had proved during a four-day conflict with India in May that anyone intending to harm the country would get a befitting reply. “So nobody can taunt that we are cowards and negligent.”

The minister said it was very easy to deliver speeches on Palestine in the House, adding that “our hearts have been wounded by the cruelty” that had been witnessed in the Palestinian enclave.

“But Muslim countries took a collective initiative to end that bloodshed,” he continued, further stating that the opposition was refusing to accept the “peace that the people of Palestine have celebrated”.

He went on to say that had the government decided not to join the Board of Peace, opposition members would have been decrying that Pakistan had been not been given any importance, that it had been isolated. They would have questioned why Pakistan was not a part of that big an initiavtive of peace, Iqbal said.

Listing other Muslim countries that joined the Board of Peace, Iqbal asked were they not Muslim countries and brother countries of Pakistan. “Have they joined [the Board of Peace] to contribute to the bloodshed of Muslims?”

The minister said prominent Muslim countries were given a chance through this initiative to play their role for the rights of the people of Palestine and for peace in Palestine.

He stressed that the government’s stance was the same as that of the people of Pakistan: “that Israel was an aggressor and a cruel country, which — Netanyahu has the blood of Muslims and Palestinians on his hands.”

“Our moral stance has not changed at all,” he said, adding that the government decided to join the board on the basis of this stance. “So that we can play our role along with our brother countries for peace in Palestine.”

He said that a major reason behind “the halt to bombardment” in Palestine was the role of eight Muslim countries that worked with the Trump administration on a ceasefire plan for Gaza.

“And the people [of Palestine] accepted that ceasefire, and they appreciated that the ensuing peace gave them an opportunity to begin their lives anew,” he maintained.

The minister added: “Our stance regarding Palestine is unchanged. 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.”

Speaking before Iqbal, Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas took exception to the government deciding to join the Board of Peace without taking Parliament into confidence.

“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 decried.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also voiced opposition to the decision, claiming it was taken because of the “fear of Trump”.

He accused the US president of strengthening Israel against Muslim countries such as Iran.

Earlier, JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza submitted an adjournment motion in the Senate, seeking discussion on Pakistan joining US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ without taking the parliament or cabinet into confidence.

In a post on X, the JUI-F Senator said, “An adjournment motion has been submitted in the Senate on behalf of JUI-F regarding Pakistan’s inclusion in the Board of Peace.”

“The House may adjourn its normal business in order to discuss an issue of public importance, whereby the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. issued a statement, i.e. ‘Pakistan will join US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace to help achieve lasting peace in Gaza’ without taking the Parliament into confidence or without placing the matter before the Cabinet,” the motion read.

It added that such an approach was “against the saying of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.”

Gul Plaza inferno

In the joint parliament session, lawmakers from both Houses of Parliament passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the victims of Karachi’s Gul Plaza inferno, calling on the Sindh government to introduce “systemic reforms” ensuring that the tragedy is not repeated.

The fire that erupted at Gul Plaza last week has left at least 67 people dead in its wake. The plaza, parts of which have collapsed due to the blaze, was a ground-plus-three building with 1,200 shops spread over 8,000 square yards.

In the resolution passed today, the parliament expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and took note of the “reported shortcomings that turned an accident into a mass tragedy,” calling for systemic reforms.

“The Parliament offers its heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of the deceased and prays for the swift recovery of the injured,” the resolution read.

It also paid tribute to firefighter Furqan Ali, who embraced martyrdom while battling the deadly fire.

In the joint resolution, the parliament urged the Sindh government to “ensure compensation to the families of victims and immediate recovery of the businesses affected.”

“Immediately undertake a city-wide emergency fire-risk audit of all commercial and residential buildings,” the resolution read, adding that the number of fire stations and firefighting equipment should be increased as well.

It also called upon the federal government to “facilitate and provide necessary support to the Provincial Government of Sindh in this crisis situation.”

The parliament vowed to “stand in unanimous solidarity with the people of Karachi and the victims’ families in this hour of immense grief”.

It further demanded that “lasting action” should be taken so that “lives lost in Gul Plaza will not go in vain.”

Senator Sherry Rehman calls on govt to play its part

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, in her address to the joint session, expressed support for the resolution, calling on the federal government to play its part in supporting Karachi.

“Gul Plaza tragedy has been heartbreaking for all of us,” she said, adding that it was particularly difficult for “families who were awaiting the recovery of their loved ones’ bodies”.

During her address, the PPP leader underscored the need for readjusting resources as per population.

Taking note of MQM-P’s demand of handing over Karachi to the federal government, she said, “PPP has many, many contributions to Karachi, and while everyone has a right to criticise, do not add fuel to the fire”.

She urged MQM-P to “not engage in politics over dead bodies, rather help us in the recovery efforts”.

Joint session passes 3 bills

The session also saw the passage of three bills, including the Daanish Schools Authority Bill 2025, the Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2025.

President Zardari returned these bills last month despite their passage by the Senate and the NA.

A day earlier, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, the government had already taken other allied parties into confidence on the matter and assured them that all three bills would be passed in the joint sitting.

Also during the session, the opposition staged a protest as its members, led by leaders of the opposition in the NA and Senate, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, respectively, gathered in front of the speaker’s dais.

The session was adjourned for an indefinite period.

Achakzai condemns Imaan and Hadi’s arrest

Opposition leader in the NA Achakzai, while speaking in the National Assembly today, condemned the arrest of activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, stating that “targeting political dissenters violated the Constitution”.

The couple was arrested earlier today in Islamabad while they were reportedly en route to the district courts.

Achakzai stressed that the “freedom of expression and basic civil rights were being continuously curtailed in the country”.

“Using the law to protect the interests of a powerful class was unfortunate,” Acahkzai maintained, adding that such acts “severely undermined the public’s trust in state institutions”.

Achakzai demanded their release, calling for a “transparent and impartial” investigation into the arrest.