REMARKS made by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday were yet another proof that Pakistan will never compromise on the just cause of Palestinians and will also continue to make its contribution to help secure their fundamental rights.
Highlighting Pakistan’s strong stance on the Palestinian issue, including calling attention to the ongoing suffering in Gaza and advocating for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid, he clarified that Pakistan and other Muslim countries, after mutual consultations, proposed amendments to the US draft peace plan, which have not been incorporated and they should be made part of the plan. He emphatically stated Pakistan stands for a two-state solution and there can’t be compromise on this principled position.
The details given by him of behind-the-scenes efforts to promote prospects for a ceasefire in Gaza and other related issues also make it clear that the Muslim countries worked in unison to get their viewpoint reflected in the proposed peace plan. These countries decided to have intensive consultations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and put up consensus proposals before the US President. The meeting with Trump was meant 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. These objectives were conveyed to the US President who proposed that his team would devise a “workable solution” with the Foreign Ministers of the eight Muslim countries that participated in the meeting. According to US news outlet Axios, the deal now before Hamas is significantly different from the one the US and a group of Arab and Muslim countries had previously agreed on, due to Netanyahu’s intervention. The main stumbling block, it seems, were the last-minute edits secured by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu when he held a six-hour meeting with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. These included the conditions and timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the proposal ties Israel’s withdrawal to the progress of disarming Hamas and gives Israel a veto over the process. Even if all conditions are met and three phases of withdrawal are completed, Axios reported that Israeli forces would still remain within a security perimeter “until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat”. This being so, officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkiye have reportedly conveyed their anger to the US and the presser of the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted Pakistan’s concerns as well. In this backdrop, sanity demands the US should withdraw unilateral amendments made to the draft agreed with the Muslim bloc as the plan, in its existing form, is unlikely to garner necessary support for practical implementation. The US President also acted in haste in hurling a threat on Hamas to accept the deal within three or four days or ‘face a bad end’. Hamas can, of course, be influenced by members of the Muslim bloc but for this to happen they themselves have to be satisfied with all aspects of the plan. It is, perhaps, for the first time in the Middle-East that almost all stakeholders are inclined to support the peace plan provided unilateral changes are withdrawn and rights of Palestinians are considered as sacrosanct as those of the Jewish State. Pakistan is playing a positive and helpful role in promoting efforts aimed at safeguarding legitimate interests of Palestinians. It is in contact with other members of the Islamic bloc and hopefully consensus would re-emerge on the plan and the opportunity for durable peace would not be lost.
