JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman appears for an interview with a private digital media platform. SCREEN GRAB
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 publication of the board’s terms and greater parliamentary oversight of foreign policy decisions, while the government defended the move as consistent with UN resolutions and Pakistan’s longstanding 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 terms of the deal be made public and that Parliament be taken into confidence.
However, the government defended the decision as rooted in national interest and solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying Pakistan’s role would be in line with UN resolutions on ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza.
Addressing Parliament, Maulana said several countries, including European states and France, had refused to join the Peace Council, 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 “to expect peace from Trump was to live in a fool’s paradise,” and said Trump himself chaired the board and retained the authority to appoint or remove members at will.
He said that the very actors who had fueled the Palestinian crisis were now presenting themselves as justices of the peace.
Recalling the historical roots of the Palestine issue, he said the state of Israel was established under British patronage despite the League of Nations recommending against Jewish settlement in the country.
“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 assault on Gaza, has been included in the peace forum.
He lamented that Gaza continued to be bombed even though Pakistan’s leadership joined the initiative.
The JUI-F chief also criticized foreign policy decisions shaped by international pressure and invoked Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance on Israel and questioned whether the current rulers reflected that legacy.
Commenting on the issue of terrorism in Pakistan, he went on to say that peace could not be exported abroad when it was absent at home. He claimed that armed groups effectively controlled several districts, security forces abandoned 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 great importance to Pakistan and stressed that Islamabad should only accept solutions approved by the Muslim world.
He questioned why the government had accepted the Peace Council without parliamentary approval and pointed out that a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced Pakistan’s participation without any debate in Parliament.
He asked whether Pakistani forces would be expected to play a role in disarming Hamas, stressing that since the board was not a UN body, the government could not proceed unilaterally. “Before joining such a forum, it was necessary to move a resolution in parliament,” he said.
Outside the House, the PTI issued a formal statement rejecting the government’s decision, saying international decisions of such magnitude must be taken transparently and through wide consultation.
The party stressed that Pakistan’s participation in peace initiatives should strengthen, not undermine, the UN multilateral system.
The PTI reaffirmed its support for Palestinian self-determination and an independent state with Al-Quds Sharif as its capital, and called on 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 secure public confidence.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar also criticized the decision on social media and denied that the rush was “beyond understanding”. He said his party would not support any deal that violated Palestinian rights or went against the wishes of the Palestinian people.
‘National Significance’
Defending the government’s position, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Parliament, that Pakistan’s participation was a matter of national importance transcending politics, similar to issues such as Kashmir and Palestine.
He said the Peace Council would operate in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions focusing on Gaza reconstruction and a permanent ceasefire.
He stressed that Pakistan had consistently raised the Palestinian cause internationally and that joining the board was meant to serve the interests of the Palestinian people and the wider Muslim Ummah.
He assured lawmakers that parliament would be taken into confidence and called for consensus rather than “political point-scoring”.
