Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday that Pakistan’s federal cabinet has approved joining the Board of Peace, a US-led initiative launched by President Donald Trump to support the Gaza ceasefire. Shehbaz, in Davos to sign the board’s charter, said Pakistan hopes the initiative will promote peace in Gaza, enable reconstruction, and ensure Palestinians’ rights are respected.
The board, initially focused on Gaza, may later expand to address other global conflicts. Pakistan is among eight Muslim-majority countries participating, alongside Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The government emphasized that the framework aims to advance a permanent ceasefire, scale up humanitarian aid, and support the eventual establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.
Shehbaz also described his Davos visit as productive, highlighting a meeting with the IMF managing director, who praised Pakistan’s economic efforts. He added that his discussion with Trump underlined goodwill and noted that a ceasefire brokered with US support last year helped save millions of lives during the India-Pakistan conflict.
The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, with a founding executive team including Marco Rubio, Tony Blair, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, and member states serving three-year terms unless they contribute $1 billion for permanent membership.
