ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday described its decision to join a newly formed international body aimed at supporting peace efforts in Gaza as a “diplomatic success,” dismissing opposition criticism that the move was taken without parliamentary consensus.
The Gaza Board of Peace brings together participating states and international stakeholders seeking to support dialogue, stability and peace-related initiatives linked to the conflict in the Palestinian enclave.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the forum’s charter a day earlier on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.
Opposition lawmakers objected to the decision in parliament, saying the government joined the initiative without taking them into confidence or disclosing its terms.
“If Pakistan had not gone to the Board of Peace today, these honorable members would have been making the same forceful speeches that Pakistan has been isolated, that no one is engaging with Pakistan and asking why Pakistan was not included in such a major peace initiative,” Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said in a parliamentary address.
