Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on Friday, said that US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to stop the fighting in Gaza does not match the text put up by a group of Muslim-majority countries. This comment, which was made in the Pakistan National Assembly, goes against what Trump said a few days previously, which was that Pakistan supported his plan.
Dar said that the last 20 points Trump put out have “some changes” from the document that the eight Muslim countries agreed on.
The Drafts Have Some Important Differences
The primary difference between Trump’s final plan and the one from the Muslim-majority countries is that it calls for Israeli troops to leave.
Muslim Countries’ Draft: Called on all Israelis to leave Gaza.
Trump’s plan calls for a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops to get ready for Hamas to free the remaining prisoners. This phased departure provides room for more talks about the details.
The consensus draft that Pakistan and the other seven countries put together called for “a full Israeli withdrawal” and “a path for a just peace on the basis of the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Dar said this was still Pakistan’s position.
Sharif’s First Support Made Clear
The Deputy PM’s comments help to explain what Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said before, when he officially supported Trump’s plan. Dar says that Sharif merely gave a “general response” to Trump’s larger social media post while he was on the road, before the details of the changed 20-point plan were thoroughly looked at.
Commitment to the West Bank
Dar said that Trump promised the group of eight countries—Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Indonesia—that he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank. This is something that far-right supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been pushing for.
Trump’s 20-Point Plan
Donald Trump put out his 20-point plan on Monday. The main goal is to halt the fighting between Israel and Hamas. The main things it needs are:
All captives, dead or alive, must be returned within 72 hours of a truce.
Hamas must to give up its weapons and not be allowed to run the area in the future.
The idea calls for a rebuilt “New Gaza.”
There would be no more military activities, and the battle lines would stay where they are until the “complete staged withdrawal” of Israeli troops starts.
A “technocratic, apolitical” Palestinian committee would oversee Gaza as a temporary government. A new international group called the “Board of Peace,” which would be led by Trump himself, would be in charge of this.
Hamas has three to four days to agree to Trump’s offer.
The project comes after Israel’s military assault in Gaza, which began after Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023, and has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians and caused a lot of damage to the area. The US government wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send troops and money to Gaza to help with the transition and rebuilding.