Islamabad, Jan 22 (IANS) Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, an Opposition leader in Pakistan’s Senate, has criticised the country’s decision to join US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, terming it “morally incorrect and indefensible”, both on principle and on policy.
In a post on X, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas stated, “The initiative was problematic from the outset. Conceived as an externally managed arrangement for post-war Gaza, it effectively removes the right of governance from the Palestinian people themselves. By placing reconstruction, security and political oversight in the hands of outside actors, the project carries the unmistakable imprint of a neo-colonial enterprise. Such frameworks rarely end at administration. Trump’s initiative will, over time, erode the very right to self-determination it claims to safeguard.”
“What makes Pakistan’s participation more troubling is that an initiative initially sold as a limited mechanism for rebuilding after the genocide in Gaza is now being openly expanded. Statements by its principal sponsor and the contents of its draft charter suggest ambitions well beyond Palestine, with little regard for the United Nations. The absence of clear UN oversight and the board’s widening mandate point towards an attempt to supplant, or at the very least marginalise, the existing multilateral system,” he added.
Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar stressed that Pakistan’s decision to become part of the board without any public debate or taking opinion from Parliament “smacks of the disregard this regime has of the Pakistani nation.”
In a post on X, he wrote, “The so called ‘board of peace’ is a colonial enterprise to not only govern Gaza but create a parallel system to the UN. The board ‘will have the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed. It will be ‘a more nimble and effective international peace-building body’, in its own language. The charter of this “board of peace” gives Trump czarist powers to implement his personal as well as US agenda without any mechanism to prevent such one sided outcome.”
He added, “All other members can be nominated by the Chairman (Trump) or terminated by him. The Chairman can choose when the board meets or what it discusses. In this new forum, Trump alone would have an absolute veto. The one billion dollar ticket for a permanent seat creates in other words, a rich man’s club and what such clubs more than often do is anyone’s guess!”
Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the US, the UK and the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, termed Pakistan’s decision to join Trump Board of Peace “unwise for many reasons.”
“An unwise decision for many reasons. The govt has overlooked the fact that Trump wants states to join the board to secure international support and legitimacy for what are and will be unilateral actions by him. The board’s remit is v broad and beyond Gaza, another reason not to join,” Lodhi posted on X.
Their statement comes after Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Pakistan will join the Board of Peace as part of the ongoing efforts to support the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan under the framework of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803. In the statement, Pakistan expressed hope that concrete measures will be taken towards implementation of a permanent ceasefire, further scaling up of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and reconstruction of Gaza.
–IANS
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