Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for the United States on Wednesday to attend the inaugural global summit of the Board of Peace (BoP), hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington on February 19.
The prime minister left for Washington from London, where he had arrived on Tuesday for a brief two-day stay following the conclusion of his official visit to Austria.
The sources said PM Shehbaz would have a one-on-one meeting with host President Donald Trump during his stay in Washington, The News reported last week.
They said that one of the key goals of the Washington meeting was to mobilise funding for Gaza’s reconstruction. More than 20 countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Argentina and Hungary, are members of the board.
Last month, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that Pakistan would continue to engage with international efforts aimed at peace and security in Gaza.
“Pakistan will remain engaged with international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions,” he said.
Pakistan has reiterated at international forums its readiness to play a “constructive role” in the US peace plan for Palestine.
US President Trump launched his new board at World Economic Forum in Davos in late January, with world leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, signing on to pursue a lasting agreement for Gaza.
Gaza ceasefire violations
Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation to join the initiative. While some of Washington’s Middle Eastern allies have joined, many of its traditional Western allies have thus far stayed away. Permanent membership on the board costs $1 billion.
A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorised the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas signed off.
Under Trump’s Gaza plan, revealed late last year, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said it would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with over 600 Palestinians reported killed since the truce began in October.
