Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Saturday criticised the government for participating in the Board of Peace’s (BoP) first meeting over Gaza, terming it “unacceptable”.
His remarks came after the inaugural BoP meeting on Thursday in Washington, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the peacemaking efforts of United States President Donald Trump, who is heading the forum.
Addressing the media in Lahore on Saturday, the JI leader said it was “unacceptable at any cost” to ignore the country’s long-established policy on the Palestine issue.
He emphasised that since the time of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s policy had remained clear and that any deviation from it would be intolerable.
Rehman also opposed any plan to send Pakistani troops to Gaza as part of an international stabilisation force (ISF) envisioned under Trump’s 20-point plan.
He argued that the matter concerned Gaza’s internal affairs and should be handled only by local Palestinian police and forces rather than foreign troops.
However, Pakistan was not named among the five nations that committed troops for the proposed ISF, which is tasked with securing reconstruction zones and supporting a post-conflict governance arrangement in Gaza.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi has said Islamabad had clearly outlined its “red lines”, stating that Pakistan could consider participation in a peacekeeping mandate but would not be part of any disarmament or demilitarisation mission.
The JI chief also expressed scepticism over Trump’s statements about Hamas’s disarmament, questioning how Pakistan could reconcile participation in any such framework with its official stance.
“You will go there under whose command?” Rehman asked.
“When you do not speak openly against America or President Trump even while sitting here, how will forces placed under their command raise their voice against Israel or the United States?”
He maintained that there was no need for Pakistan to become part of the ISF planned for the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier this week, Trump pledged $10 billion for Gaza’s reconstruction and brought together representatives of several Muslim-majority countries that offered funding and troops for a proposed ISF.
According to officials at the meeting, Morocco announced it was ready to send police personnel and officers to the nascent force.
The ISF’s American commander, Major General Jasper Jeffers, said that Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Kosovo had also pledged troops.
Indonesia earlier indicated it was prepared to contribute up to 8,000 personnel — nearly half of the 20,000 troops reportedly being sought.
The initiative follows a ceasefire negotiated in October by the Trump administration in coordination with Qatar and Egypt, aimed at halting two years of Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
The second phase of the plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas — a proposal that has drawn mixed reactions from regional stakeholders.
While Trump expressed hope that the use of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be disarmed “one way or the other”.
