Pakistan says will not be part of any move to disarm Hamas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has made it clear that it will play its role for peace in Gaza but will not be part of any move to disarm Hamas.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that Pakistan’s participation in ongoing diplomatic initiatives on Gaza would be limited to supporting peace efforts and alleviating humanitarian suffering.

“Pakistan will play its role for the establishment of peace in Gaza; however, we will not be involved in disarming Hamas,” he said, adding that Islamabad would not be part of any decision targeting a specific group or organisation.

Andrabi said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in New York at the invitation of US President Donald Trump and would attend a meeting of the Gaza “Board of Peace.”

The prime minister is also expected to hold meetings with senior US officials during the visit.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is also in New York, Andrabi said adding that Dar had met the Palestinian permanent representative to the United Nations and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Before visiting Austria, he said, Dar also held telephone conversations with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Abdelatty, the spokesperson said.

Andrabi said that Sharif had also travelled to Vienna at the invitation of Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, where a joint communiqué was issued at the conclusion of the visit.

During his stay, he said, the prime minister met Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He said expectations were attached to the proposed Gaza Board of Peace, expressing hope that it would help improve the situation in the enclave and ease the difficulties faced by its people.

He said that Pakistan, along with seven other Muslim-majority countries, had strongly condemned what he described as a controversial Israeli law regarding the annexation of the West Bank.

He said that no decision had been taken regarding the International Assistance Security Forces.

Separately, Andrabi said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal also attended the swearing-in ceremony of Bangladesh’s new prime minister.

Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan had seen reports about the arrest of Indian national Nikhil Gupta. He alleged that there was evidence of Indian-backed militant groups operating in Pakistan.

Earlier, Pakistan’s rejected suggestions that its decision to join the newly formed “Board of Peace” is connected to the Abraham Accords and reiterated that the country will not become a party to those normalization agreements.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had told a weekly briefing that equating Pakistan’s participation in the Board of Peace with joining the Abraham Accords was a “misconception”.

He said Islamabad’s position on the Palestinian issue remained unchanged and that Pakistan would not join the Abraham Accords, which are US-brokered agreements normalising ties between Israel and several Arab states.