Pakistan says Trump’s Gaza peace plan diverges from Muslim nations’ proposal
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New Delhi: Pakistan on Friday claimed that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza does not match the draft presented to him by a group of Muslim-majority countries.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, quoted by Reuters, said the plan Trump unveiled earlier this week had been altered from what eight Muslim nations, including Pakistan, submitted during a September 22 meeting in New York. Their draft called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, while Trump’s version outlines only a partial pullback in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas. “I have made it clear that these 20 points which Trump has made public are... not the same as ours. I say that some changes have been made in it, in the draft we had,” Dar said.
On Monday, Trump announced his 20-point plan to end the war, saying “we are beyond very close” to peace. Speaking alongside Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, he warned that if Hamas refused the deal, Israel would have Washington’s full backing to press ahead with military action. Netanyahu welcomed the proposal, saying it advanced Israel’s goals.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared to welcome Trump’s plan in a social media post, though Dar later clarified that Sharif’s reaction was a general response to Trump’s broader announcement made while he was in transit. The White House revealed the plan a week after leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Indonesia discussed the Gaza crisis with Trump. Reports suggested Washington wanted Muslim and Arab nations to send troops to Gaza to facilitate an Israeli withdrawal, while also providing funds for reconstruction and a new administration in the territory, Axios reported.
Trump claimed Hamas had expressed readiness to release all hostages and begin immediate negotiations, adding that he believed the group was “ready for a lasting peace”. He also urged Israel to “immediately stop the bombing” to enable the safe and swift release of hostages.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took hostages. Israel’s ongoing air and ground assault has since left more than 62,600 dead, according to Palestinian authorities. In August, the UN declared famine in northern Gaza, and in September, a commission of inquiry set up by the United Nations said Israel had committed genocide, a charge Israel rejected as “distorted and false”.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in ceasefire negotiations since July, but earlier attempts to revive a short-lived truce from January collapsed because of disputes between the two sides.
Under Trump’s plan, Israel would begin a partial withdrawal from Gaza once Hamas releases the hostages, who must be freed within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance. In exchange, Israel would release 250 Palestinians serving life terms and 1,700 others detained after the conflict began. Hamas members who renounce violence would be granted amnesty or safe passage abroad, while Israel would not annex Gaza or forcibly displace its residents. Control of evacuated areas would gradually pass to an International Stabilisation Force, while governance would be handled by a temporary “technocratic, apolitical” Palestinian committee supervised by a “Board of Peace” led by Trump and including former UK prime minister Tony Blair, although the proposal has not yet specified his role. Hamas would have no role in Gaza’s administration, and all military infrastructure, including tunnels and arms factories, would be dismantled.