ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that Pakistan was ready to commit troops to the Gaza peace force but the government has now reopened consultations following concerns that the force would be required to disarm Hamas.
The International Stabilisation Force (ISF) forms part of the Trump Peace Agreement. Both Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had agreed in principle to deployment of Pakistan’s troops, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar told a media briefing at the Foreign Office.
Dar, however, made it clear that a new claim is circulating that the ISF would be required to disarm Hamas. “This issue of Hamas’ disarmament first surfaced during a Riyadh meeting on the two-state solution. We are not ready for that. This is not our job but that of the Palestinian law-enforcement agencies. Our role is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement. We are definitely ready to contribute to the force and the prime minister has already announced in principle—after consultation with the Field Marshal—that we shall contribute to the ISF. But this decision cannot be takean until the mandate of ISF and its Terms of Reference (ToR) are finalised. To my knowledge, if disarming Hamas is included, then even my Indonesian counterpart has informally expressed reservations.”
Indonesia was initially the first Islamic state to announce readiness to deploy 20,000 troops when the issue was raised in New York in a meeting between President Trump and some Islamic countries, but the disarmament condition has prompted second thoughts. Pakistan, Dar added, has consistently insisted that the mandate of any such mission must be clear and internationally agreed upon. Regarding Afghanistan, Dar stated that Field Marshal General Asim Munir has agreed to reopen the Pakistan-Afghan border so that essential humanitarian food items can be sent to the people of Afghanistan. The consignments waiting in trucks at the border now only await the assent of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan had closed all border crossings with Afghanistan in October after Taliban forces attacked Pakistani posts along the shared border, resulting in several soldiers being martyred. “Yesterday, the United Nations requested me to consider sending essential humanitarian food aid to Afghanistan. I spoke to Field Marshal General Asim Munir last night and he agreed. I now need permission from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is currently in London and whom I have yet to speak to. Hopefully, there will be positive news by tomorrow,” Dar said. He emphasized that these essential food items are for the Afghan people and not for anyone else, particularly the TTP. In a lighthearted remark, he said: “If I could, I would put labels on all these food items saying, ‘If the TTP use them, they will get diarrhoea’.”
For the first time, the deputy prime minister revealed that Pakistan was fully prepared to launch a “kinetic operation” against TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan and was ready to initiate this “cleanup operation”, but the plan was stopped after Qatar intervened urging Pakistan to wait and give diplomacy through mediation a chance.
“Qatar was aware of our planned kinetic operation and requested us to stop, taking responsibility for resolving the matter between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I subsequently contacted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. They agreed, and I thanked them for halting the operation,” he recalled. He hinted, however, that the kinetic option remains on the table and Pakistan is prepared to take decisive action if the Afghan government fails to stop cross-border terror attacks originating from its soil.
Dar pointed out that continued attacks from inside Afghanistan are no longer sustainable and that he found himself in a difficult position while attending the funerals of soldiers killed by terrorists based inside Afghanistan. “Our only demand from Afghanistan has been that their soil should not be used for terrorism against Pakistan. I visited Kabul thrice because I was very sincere and wanted a solution. I feel strongly for Afghanistan—a Muslim nation, landlocked and a country with which we have had relations for decades,” he said. On Afghanistan seeking new trade routes, including with India since the Pak-Afghan border was closed, Dar said this did not concern him because there is no price for dignity and self-respect. “We cannot compromise and in any case we also have other trade routes. But if Afghanistan opts for dialogue and diplomacy, it will see Pakistan taking a hundred steps forward,” he said, adding that he has not given up hope and that Turkey and Qatar are still mediating.
