Fazl claims Pakistan’s policies are being shaped by global pressure; Tariq Fazal defends move
ISLAMABAD
The opposition slammed the government’s decision on Thursday to participate in United States President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” without parliamentary approval and called for the withdrawal of any formal involvement until a complete consultative process was undertaken.
Pakistan accepted Trump’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, a new international mechanism aimed at supporting the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan, a day ago. The Foreign Office did not provide details about the composition of the Board of Peace or its operational modalities, but officials indicated that the forum was expected to play a facilitative role in coordinating ceasefire arrangements, humanitarian assistance, and post-conflict reconstruction, while supporting a broader political track under UN auspices.
Addressing the National Assembly on the development, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman strongly criticised the formation of a so-called “Board of Peace” under Trump.
The JUI-F chief said that Trump was forming the Board of Peace according to his own wishes, deciding its membership himself and remaining its chairman. “If we then associate hopes of peace, economic stability and a better future for Palestinians with such a board, it would be nothing but deceiving ourselves,” he said.
Referring to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the resulting casualties, Fazl said that more than 70,000 innocent Palestinians had been killed over the past one to one-and-a-half years. He added that over 100,000 people had died due to hunger and poverty, while more than 150,000 had been rendered homeless. “Does anyone feel the pain these people have gone through?” he asked.
Raising questions over Pakistan’s foreign policy, the JUI-F leader said policies in the country were shaped under external pressure, and Pakistan had never formulated its foreign policy around its own national interests.
Fazl accused Pakistan’s policies of being shaped under global pressure and questioned whether current rulers followed Quaid-e-Azam’s stance on Israel, recalling that Muhammad Ali Jinnah had called Israel an “illegitimate state”.
