Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday distanced Islamabad from US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, saying his country had proposed a different version. Dar, who is also the country's deputy prime minister, made the remarks while speaking at Pakistan's National Assembly.
Interestingly, Dar's remarks comes days after Trump praised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for backing his Gaza peace proposal, calling the two "incredible" leaders.
"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," Dar told the Pakistan National Assembly, as reported by news agency ANI. "This is the end result, and there is no room for politicking."
Eight Muslin and Arab countries - Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt - held a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, said Dar. During the meeting, Dar said the US President gave a positive response, assuring them he would work on a 'workable solution'.
"President Trump's committee also came and open talks were held on what they wanted [...]. They gave us a 20-point proposal," Dar told the Pakistani National Assembly. "We held different meetings in the next 24 hours. We were exchanging hard copies in hotel rooms."
Trump's praise for Munir, Sharif
Earlier this week, Trump lauded Munir and Sharif for backing his Gaza peace proposal, calling them 'incredible'. His remarks came after the two met him at the White House.
"The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal of Pakistan, they were with us right from the beginning. Incredible," Trump had said. "In fact, they just put out a statement that they fully believe in this pact. It just came out just as I was walking around. They said, Sir, we have a big notice from the Prime Minister of Pakistan and from the field marshal that they back this 100 per cent."
Trump's Gaza peace plan
On Monday, Trump announced his 'comprehensive plan to end the conflict' in Gaza. As a part of the plan, he proposed that Gaza should be made a terror-free zone and Hamas should release all Israeli hostages. Once the hostages are released, Israel should free the 1,700 Gaza citizens it has detained following the October 7 attacks.
"If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed-upon line to prepare for a hostage release," Trump's plan states. "During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal."
