Gaza | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that ceasefire in Gaza will help prevent massacre of innocent and unarmed Palestinians and realize the long-standing dream of establishing a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Palestinian group Hamas’s response to US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan “creates a window for a ceasefire and ensuring peace that we must not allow to close again”. Late Friday night, Trump told Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, but vexing issues like disarmament appeared unresolved. Subsequently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas’s response. Meanwhile, the world welcomed Hamas’s positive response, with Pakistan also doing the same. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the premier said: “Alhamdolillah, we are closer to a ceasefire than we have been since this genocide was launched on the Palestinian people. Pakistan has always stood by the Palestinian people and shall always do so.” H...

• Foreign minister distances Islamabad from 20-point plan by White House; insists Pakistan’s policy on Palestine remains ‘unchanged’ • Says several states eyeing Saudi-style defence pacts; claims controversial ‘speechwriter’ was not part of ‘official UN team’ • Return of flotilla activists being negotiated through ‘European country’ in absence of ties with Tel Aviv ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday stressed that the United States was now “the only hope” after the United Nations, European Union and Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) had failed to secure peace in Gaza. Making a policy statement in the National Assembly, Mr Dar again distanced the government from US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza “peace plan”, saying it differed from a draft jointly prepared by eight Muslim countries and shared with Washington. He said the prime minister’s initial statement welcoming the plan was issued while in transit, while he was “unaware of the changes”. “Pakistan’s policy on Palestine is wha...

US President Donald Trump said early Saturday Israel must stop bombing Gaza immediately and that he believes Hamas is ready for peace after an earlier statement by the Palestinian resistance group. Hamas said it would agree to some of the terms in Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, including releasing hostages, but avoided addressing more vexing issues like disarmament and said it would seek further negotiations. Soon after, Trump posted Hamas’ response to his Truth Social account. Trump had earlier not specified whether the terms would be subject to negotiation, as Hamas is seeking. Notably, the resistance group did not say if it would agree to disarm and demilitarise Gaza — something Israel and the US want but Hamas has rejected before. It also did not agree to an Israeli withdrawal in stages, as opposed to the immediate, full withdrawal the group demands. A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera that the group would not disarm before Israel’s occupation of the besieged enclave ends, comments that underscored...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the 20-point Gaza peace plan released by US President Donald Trump was “not ours” but insisted that there was no room for politicking on the matter. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Dar referred to his earlier press briefing in Islamabad and said: “I made it clear that the 20 points that President Trump made public are not ours. Changes were made to our draft. I have the record.” However, he went on to say: “This is the end result, and there is no room for politicking.” Eight Muslim and Arab countries — Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt — had held a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly session, where the US president discussed his plan for ending the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. On Sept 29, US President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met and, in a press conference after the meeting, announced the forme...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday rejected the altered draft of the Gaza peace agreement, clarifying that the 20 points presented by U.

Civil society and advocacy groups gathered on Thursday outside the Karachi Press Club to protest against the detention of activists aboard the Gaza Sumud Flotilla (GSF), calling on the government to demand the release of the Pakistani delegation, led by former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. On Wednesday, the GSF, carrying aid to Gaza in its attempt to break Israel’s blockade, was intercepted by Israeli military forces. On board the GSF were over 400 activists from 40 countries, among them a five-member delegation from Pakistan. Thursday’s demonstration, organised by the Pakistan Palestine Forum (PFF) in collaboration with the Palestine Action Coalition (PAC) and the non-profit organisation Human Rights Council of Pakistan, aimed to mobilise the public against the state’s inaction. People of all ages gathered, chanting slogans for a free Palestine. The demonstrators demanded the immediate release of the detained Pakistanis and called on the government to take concrete action against Israel. “...

Pakistan and several other countries on Thursday condemned Israel’s “dastardly attack” on the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) after its forces intercepted the flotilla heading to break Israel’s siege of Gaza and deliver aid. Hours after Tel Aviv’s move drew global condemnation, the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X that all on board the flotilla were safe would be “deported to Europe”. The statement said: “The Hamas-Sumud provocation is over. None of the Hamas-Sumud provocation yachts has succeeded in its attempt to enter an active combat zone or breach the lawful naval blockade. “All the passengers are safe and in good health. They are making their way safely to Israel, from where they will be deported to Europe.” It added that one last vessel of “this provocation remains at a distance. If it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented”. Earlier, the flotilla said that Israeli forces began intercepting the flotilla’s latest bid to reach Gaza late last ...

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday strongly condemned the Israeli military’s assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza, terming it “another blatant act of terrorism.

• Plan announced by White House differs from terms agreed between Trump and heads of Muslim countries • Distrust remains over proposed International Stabilisation Force • Hamas seeks changes to ‘disarmament’ clause DESPITE their misgivings with the ‘pro-Israel’ draft of US President Donald Trump’s plan to bring peace to war-ravaged Gaza, countries from the eight-member Muslim bloc may yet push for it to be accepted. Officials from Qatar and Pakis­tan have already implied — albeit diplomatically — that the plan announced by the White House was quite different from the one they signed up to in New York. But some countries — especially those in Gaza’s immediate neighbourhood — also believe they have secured key concessions, such as Trump’s refusal to recognise Israeli annexation of the West Bank and a US commitment that Palestinians will be allowed to remain in Gaza. Israel has also agreed, under the plan, not to permanently occupy the Gaza Strip. “Gaza’s reconstruction represents a major economic opportunity fo...

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza. Subsequently, eight Arab or Muslim-majority nations — Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt — “welcomed the role of the American president and his sincere efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza”. In Pakistan, the government’s so-called approval of the plan had drawn flak from politicians, journalists and activists alike, who termed the deal a “two-state surrender’’ with the scales weighing heavily in Israel’s favour. Subsequently, signs began appearing that not everyone was happy with the draft made public by the White House. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar seemingly distanced Pakistani decision-makers from the plan. He also made it clear in so many words that the US peace plan for Gaza would not be acceptable if the am­e­ndments — jointly pro­posed by eight Muslim co­u­n­tries — were not included. This came after Trump had previously...

• ‘This is not our document’, says Dar about White House plan; sticks to joint statement from Muslim bloc • Reveals Indonesia has committed 20,000 troops; Islamabad expected to make a decision soon • Axios claims Netanyahu negotiated changes to draft agreed between Trump, Muslim leaders • US president gives Hamas ‘three to four days’ to agree to deal; insiders say group will ‘likely reject’ proposal ISLAMABAD / WASHI­N­GTON: A day after US President Donald Trump unveiled his ambitious plan to end the war in Ga­za, signs have began to emerge that not everyone is happy with the draft made public by White House. This was evident from Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s presser on Tuesday, where he made it clear in so many words that the US peace plan for Gaza would not be acceptable if the am­e­ndments — jointly pro­posed by eight Muslim co­u­n­tries — were not included. The “document has been issued by the US”, he said, seemingly distancing Pakistani decision-makers from the plan, even though Trump has previously clai...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that the Gaza peace agreement is being opposed for political motives, questioning whether critics wish for the killing of innocent civilians to persist.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed on Sunday the hope for “encouraging” outcomes of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Muslim leaders in Washington earlier this week where the American head of the state presented his plan to end Israel’s invasion of Gaza. “We fully participated in the meeting on Gaza, and God willing, its encouraging results will come out soon,” he said, flanked by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing overseas Pakistanis at the High Commission in London. According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, he also said that Pakistan was also part of Trump-led efforts to bring peace to Palestine and end oppression against the people of Gaza. The premier also expressed distress over the situation in Gaza, which has been subjected to Israeli onslaught since October 2023, and prayed that the cruelty and barbarity being witnessed there ends soon. Trump’s meeting with Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York had brought together leaders fro...

• PM Shehbaz, FM Dar join leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye and Indonesia for multilateral meeting • US president calls for immediate end to war, tells Muslim leaders ‘this is the group that can do it’ • Opposes recognition of Palestine statehood in UNGA speech; Rubio says permanent solution only possible through ‘negotiated settlement’ NEW YORK: After an antagonistic speech at the UN General Assembly, where he opposed a growing global push towards the recognition of a Palestinian state, US President Donald Trump met Muslim leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to present his plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA at United Nations Headquarters, brought together leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye and Indonesia. Ahead of the meeting, in a televised interaction with Muslim leaders, Trump said: “We have to get the hostages back… This is the group that can do it, more than any other grou...

US president commends leaders’ collective efforts, calling their work on Gaza “excellent and commendable"

The 23rd relief consignment, comprising 100 tons of humanitarian aid, was dispatched to Gaza via a special flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport, with support from the Alkhidmat Foundation and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan visited Lahore Airport on Sunday to oversee the dispatch of a humanitarian aid consignment for the people of Gaza and Palestine, organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday strongly condemned the failure of the UN Security Council to adopt a draft resolution on the worsening hu­manitarian situation in Gaza, calling it a “dark moment” that risks en­abling further atrocities against the besieged Palestinian population.

Pakistan has dispatched another consignment of humanitarian aid for Gaza under the supervision of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with Al-Khidmat Foundation.