JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman appearing for an interview with a private digital media platform. SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s decision to join the US President Donald Trump-led Board of Peace on Gaza sparked a heated debate in the National Assembly on Thursday, with opposition parties accusing the government of bypassing parliament and questioning the credibility of a forum that includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lawmakers demanded disclosure of the board’s terms and greater parliamentary oversight on foreign policy decisions, while the government defended the move as being in line with United Nations resolutions and Pakistan’s long-standing support for Palestinian rights.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman blasted the government’s move, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders demanded that the agreement’s conditions be made public and parliament be taken into confidence.
However, the government defended the decision as being rooted in national interest and solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying that Pakistan’s role would be aligned with United Nations resolutions on ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza.
Addressing the House, the Maulana said several countries, including European states and France, had refused to join the Board of Peace, questioning how Pakistan’s prime minister could sit “shoulder to shoulder” with Netanyahu, who was responsible for tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths.
He warned that “expecting peace from Trump was tantamount to living in a fool’s paradise”, saying that Trump himself chaired the board and retained the authority to appoint or remove members at will.
He said that the very actors who had fuelled the Palestinian crisis were now presenting themselves as arbiters of peace.
Recalling the historical roots of the Palestine issue, he said that the state of Israel was created under British patronage despite the League of Nations recommending against Jewish settlement in the land.
“The same forces that created the problem are now sitting in judgment,” he said, adding that Netanyahu, who is responsible for more than 70,000 Palestinian deaths during Israel’s two-year onslaught on Gaza, has been included in the peace forum.
He lamented that Gaza continued to be bombed even as Pakistan’s leadership joined the initiative.
The JUI-F chief also slammed foreign policy decisions shaped by international pressure, invoking Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance on Israel and questioning whether current rulers reflected that legacy.
Commenting on terror issues in Pakistan, he went on to say that peace could not be exported abroad when it was absent at home. He alleged that armed groups effectively controlled several districts, security forces were vacating posts and extortion was rampant in areas such as Tank, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan.
‘Without parliamentary consent’
Similarly, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Palestine and Gaza were of profound importance to Pakistan, stressing that Islamabad should only accept solutions endorsed by the Muslim world.
He questioned why the government had accepted the Board of Peace without parliamentary approval and pointed out that a Foreign Office press release had announced Pakistan’s participation without any debate in the House.
He asked whether Pakistani forces would be expected to play a role in disarming Hamas and stressed that since the board was not a United Nations body, the government could not proceed unilaterally. “Before joining such a forum, it was necessary to table a resolution in parliament,” he said.
Outside the House, the PTI issued a formal statement rejecting the government’s decision, saying that international decisions of such magnitude must be made transparently and through broad consultation.
The party stressed that Pakistan’s participation in peace initiatives should reinforce, not undermine, the UN’s multilateral system.
Reaffirming its support for Palestinian self-determination and an independent state with Al-Quds Sharif as its capital, the PTI called for Pakistan to withdraw from the Board of Peace until parliamentary scrutiny, cross-party consultation, including with party founder Imran Khan, and even a referendum were conducted to ensure public confidence.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar also slammed the decision on social media, decrying the haste as “beyond comprehension”. He said that his party would not support any agreement that violated Palestinian rights or went against the wishes of the Palestinian people.
‘National importance’
However, defending the government’s stance, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told the House that Pakistan’s participation was a matter of national importance transcending politics, similar to issues such as Kashmir and Palestine.
He said the Board of Peace would operate in line with UN Security Council resolutions, focusing on Gaza’s reconstruction and a permanent ceasefire.
He stressed that Pakistan had consistently raised the Palestinian cause internationally and that joining the board was intended to serve the interests of the Palestinian people and the broader Muslim Ummah.
He assured lawmakers that parliament would be taken into confidence and urged consensus rather than “political point-scoring”.
