Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Washington next week to attend the first meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly established “Board of Peace”, the foreign office in Islamabad said on Thursday, confirming Pakistan’s formal participation in an initiative that has drawn cautious responses from several governments and policy observers.
Foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters at a weekly press briefing that Sharif would take part in the inaugural session of the board and would be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. “I can confirm that the prime minister will attend the upcoming BoP meeting,” Andrabi said, referring to the body by its abbreviated name.
The Board of Peace was unveiled by Trump in late January as part of a broader proposal linked initially to the situation in Gaza. Under the original framework outlined by the U.S. president, the body was intended to supervise temporary governance arrangements in Gaza following the cessation of hostilities. Trump subsequently indicated that the board’s remit would be widened to address other international conflicts, with the U.S. president serving as chair.
U.S. officials have said that more than 20 countries have agreed to join the initiative, though a comprehensive list of participating states has not been made public. Washington has described the board as a mechanism designed to coordinate diplomatic efforts and provide a platform for conflict resolution discussions among member states.
Read Also: Italy Cites Legal Barriers To Trump’s ‘Board Of Peace’ Invite
Details concerning the board’s legal status, decision-making structure and relationship to existing multilateral institutions have not been fully clarified. The United Nations Security Council, under the U.N. Charter, retains primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Some governments and analysts have raised questions about whether the new body could overlap with or potentially sidestep established U.N. processes.
Islamabad has sought to frame its participation as consistent with its longstanding support for multilateral diplomacy. Andrabi said Pakistan’s decision to join the board was aligned with efforts to support proposals concerning Gaza within the framework of the Security Council. “We have joined the BoP in good faith,” he said. “We are in it not in isolation, not as one voice, but as collective voice of eight Islamic-Arab countries.”
He did not identify the other countries referenced but indicated that Pakistan viewed its involvement as part of a broader grouping rather than an independent initiative. Pakistan has historically maintained close diplomatic engagement with Muslim-majority countries on issues related to Palestine and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for unhindered humanitarian access to the territory.
The conflict in Gaza, which intensified after Hamas militants carried out attacks in southern Israel in October 2023, has prompted a sustained Israeli military campaign in the enclave. The fighting has resulted in significant casualties and widespread destruction, according to health authorities in Gaza and international aid organisations. Israel has said its operations are aimed at dismantling Hamas and securing the release of hostages.
Diplomatic efforts to secure ceasefires, humanitarian pauses and longer-term governance arrangements have been ongoing at the United Nations and through regional mediators. Proposals for post-conflict administration and reconstruction in Gaza have been discussed by various governments, though no comprehensive agreement has yet been finalised.
Read Also: Indonesia Prepares Troop For Possible Gaza Deployment
Trump’s announcement of the Board of Peace introduced an additional forum into these discussions. While U.S. officials have portrayed the initiative as complementary to existing diplomatic channels, some experts have cautioned that parallel structures could complicate coordination or create uncertainty about authority and accountability.
Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the Security Council in the past and a frequent contributor to U.N. peacekeeping missions, has traditionally emphasised adherence to international law and U.N.-led mechanisms in addressing global conflicts. Islamabad has also consistently supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The foreign office did not provide further details about the agenda for the upcoming meeting in Washington or the specific issues expected to be discussed. It also did not confirm whether Sharif would hold bilateral talks with U.S. officials or other participating leaders on the margins of the session.
Relations between Pakistan and the United States have experienced periods of strain and cooperation over the past two decades, shaped by security cooperation, counterterrorism efforts and regional developments in Afghanistan. High-level engagement between the two governments has continued intermittently in recent years.
Andrabi said additional information regarding the composition of delegations and the duration of the prime minister’s visit would be shared closer to the meeting date. No date for the board’s inaugural session was specified during the briefing, beyond confirmation that it would take place next week in Washington.
The White House has not yet released a detailed public schedule for the meeting or clarified how the board’s recommendations, if any, would be implemented. Further announcements are expected ahead of the session.