By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force it wants assurances from the United States that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three sources told Reuters.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the first formal meeting of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, alongside delegations from at least 20 countries.
Trump, who will chair the meeting, is expected to announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a U.N.-authorised stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave.
Three government sources said during the Washington visit Sharif wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before making a decision on deploying troops.
“We are ready to send troops. Let me make it clear that our troops could only be part of a peace mission in Gaza,” said one of the sources, a close aide of Sharif.
“We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question,” he said.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
FORCE TO OVERSEE RECONSTRUCTION AND RECOVERY
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the devastated Palestinian territory, and Washington has been pressing Islamabad to join.
Analysts say Pakistan would be an asset to the multinational force, with its experienced military that has gone to war with arch-rival India and tackled insurgencies.
“We can send initially a couple of thousand troops anytime, but we need to know what role they are going to play,” the source added.
Two of the sources said it was likely Sharif, who has met Trump earlier this year in Davos and late last year at the White House, would either have an audience with him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day at the White House.
BALANCING FACTORS
Initially designed to cement Gaza’s ceasefire, Trump sees the Board of Peace, launched in late January, taking a wider role in resolving global conflicts. Some countries have reacted cautiously, fearing it could become a rival to the United Nations.
While Pakistan has supported the establishment of the board, it has voiced concerns against the mission to demilitarise Gaza’s Islamist militant group Hamas.
Analysts say Islamabad will need to strike a balance between pleasing Trump by providing troops and any potential domestic fallout in a predominantly Muslim nation.
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the United States, said the Pakistani public supported sending troops to Gaza only to help protect Palestinians.
“If developments in Gaza after the deployment do not improve the position of Palestinians, there could be a massive reaction at the public level in Pakistan,” said Haqqani, currently a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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