Let one thing be clear.
Pakistan has not recognised Israel. And it has repeatedly said that it will not recognise Israel officially unless and until an independent state of Palestine has been created in line with UN Security Council resolutions on the issue.
That said, Pakistan is one of eight key Muslim states that have publicly backed US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. In recent months, especially following the military conflict with India, Pakistan’s geostrategic and military profiles have both soared.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Army Chief, in particular, have been publicly praised by the US President several times in the past few weeks. Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was invited to a one-on-one lunch meeting by President Trump at the White House as far back as June, right after the military conflict with India ended with what much of the world thought was an unambiguous win for Pakistan.
Then, in September, Saudi Arabia entered into a historic mutual security assistance pact with Pakistan – historic because it stated publicly that an attack on either of the two countries would be seen as an attack on both. Pakistan’s Prime Minister met President Trump in New York during the UN General Assembly meetings along with the heads of the other seven Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Indonesia, Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt), supporting his Gaza peace deal. Then he met the US President separately in Washington, DC, a few days after that – in this meeting, Field Marshal Munir was also present.
During all this time, President Trump continued with his public pronouncements that he was instrumental in stopping several wars, including the one between Pakistan and India. The US President also added a new element, which would have embarrassed or annoyed India, and in particular Modi, no end: he started mentioning the number of jet fighters that he said were shot down in the war between the two countries, and soon he began to call them “brand new and beautiful” planes – so, without directly naming the Indian Air Force, he was quite clearly indicating that it was the IAF’s Rafales that were shot down, since they were more or less brand new.
Pakistan should take only those decisions that are in its national interest, and on that count, too, it is the correct one, since it’s a tacit recognition of its growing influence and allows it to play a geostrategic role well beyond South Asia
In recent weeks, the US President has also repeatedly referred to Pakistan’s Army Chief in glowing terms, often calling him “my favourite field marshal”, “great guy”, and “great fighter”. In the past few months, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly acknowledged the role played by Pakistan in ending the conflict between Iran and Israel – this happened after a call between him and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar.
All these developments point to Pakistan being seen by the world as a regional player, as a country whose influence and impact go well beyond the South Asian region. And into this growing influence fits Pakistan’s decision to back the Gaza peace plan, and that may also include being part of the planned ‘International Stabilisation Force’ (ISF), which is to be deployed there as part of the initiative.
Some reports have suggested that Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Pakistan may be contributing their soldiers to the ISF, but these are unverified. The coming days and weeks will make the picture clearer on this front.
Within Pakistan, there has been an underlying strain of criticism that questions why Pakistan is even part of the plan. And the response to that is straightforward and logical: when the Palestinians and even Hamas are on board and have signed on, then why should Pakistan not support it? Furthermore, it’s a conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, so whatever decision the former take on ending the hostilities and bloodshed should be acceptable to all Muslim states and should, in fact, be supported by them.
Furthermore, Pakistanis don’t live in Gaza and have not had to endure over two years of daily airstrikes in which tens of thousands of their loved ones and compatriots have been ruthlessly killed. So if the Palestinians want to try a shot at peace and not have to deal with the daily bombings, who is Pakistan (or any other country for that matter) to deny them that right?
Pakistan’s decision to back the Gaza initiative is the right one. And if it does end up sending its soldiers as part of the ISF, then that is recognition of its growing stature and role in the larger Middle East region, and that is something that should be a welcome development.
It goes without saying that Pakistan should not take any decision that goes against the wishes of the people of Palestine, but since they and their representatives have signed on, it is the right decision. Further, Pakistan should take only those decisions that are in its national interest, and on that count, too, it is the correct one, since it’s a tacit recognition of its growing influence and allows it to play a geostrategic role well beyond South Asia.