Pakistan has been drawn into the center of a new diplomatic experiment in Gaza, after President Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join a United States-led “Board of Peace” that will help steer the territory’s fragile post war transition. The move gives Islamabad a formal role in a process that aims to consolidate a ceasefire, manage reconstruction, and shape governance arrangements in the enclave. It also tests how far Pakistan is willing to align with a Trump-designed framework that blends traditional diplomacy with an unusually commercial structure.
The invitation arrives at a moment when the Gaza peace plan backed by the US has already halted large-scale fighting and secured the release of hostages held by Hamas and other groups, but has yet to lock in a durable political settlement. For Pakistan, participation promises both influence and scrutiny, as domestic constituencies weigh the moral pull of Palestinian solidarity against the risks of joining a board that some critics see as blurring humanitarian aims with big money stakes.
The US-led Gaza framework and Pakistan’s late entry
The Gaza track that Pakistan is now being asked to join is not starting from scratch. The US-backed peace plan for Gaza took effect in October 2025, leading to the release of hostages held by Hamas and a halt in major combat operations, while committing all sides to steps that remain in line with United Nations resolutions. Within that architecture, President Donald Trump’s administration has built a layered structure that includes a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, often described as the NCAG, and a higher-level Board of Peace that is meant to provide political cover, funding, and strategic direction for reconstruction and security arrangements.
According to a White House description that describes the NCAG as a key component of Phase Two of the plan, the committee is tasked with coordinating humanitarian access, rebuilding critical infrastructure, and overseeing the flow of construction materials into Gaza. The Board of Peace sits above that layer and is framed as a forum where invited states and private figures can shape long-term security guarantees and economic projects. Pakistan’s invitation, conveyed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through the Pakistani Foreign Ministry in Islamabad and confirmed by QNA, would place the country in that upper tier, alongside founding members already named by the White House.
Who sits on the Board of Peace and what it is meant to do
The Board of Peace is being assembled as a hybrid body that mixes senior political figures with business leaders and regional representatives. The White House has said that founding executive members include Secretary of State Marco Ru and other senior United States officials, who are expected to anchor the board’s work on security guarantees and post conflict governance. Reporting on the board’s composition notes that it also features high-profile private sector figures such as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as figures identified as Sir To and other regional voices, underscoring the administration’s preference for a board that can mobilize capital as well as diplomatic leverage.
The mandate described for the board is broad. It is expected to support the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, help design mechanisms for Gaza’s security, and guide the reshaping of post conflict governance in coordination with Palestinian structures that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has already welcomed. A related initiative has created a Palestinian committee to administer the Gaza Strip, which the OIC has endorsed as a step toward more representative local management, according to a White House announcement cited in OIC welcomes formation. Pakistan’s presence on the board would give it a voice in how that Palestinian committee interacts with international donors and security actors, and in how far the board aligns its decisions with existing United Nations parameters.
Pakistan’s calculus, from foreign office to religious leadership
For Islamabad, the invitation is both a diplomatic opportunity and a political test. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received a formal offer from President Donald Trump to join what some statements describe as a Gaza Peace Council and others call the Board of Peace, with the foreign office stressing that any participation must remain consistent with Pakistan’s long-standing support for Palestinian self-determination and United Nations resolutions. A statement cited by Reuters said that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had received the invitation to join the Board of Peace on Gaza and that Islamabad would engage in line with United Nations resolutions, a formulation that signals both openness and caution.
Domestic religious leaders have moved more quickly to embrace the move. The Pakistan Ulema Council in ISLAMABAD has publicly hailed President Donald Trump’s invitation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join the Gaza peace board, describing it as recognition of Pakistan’s role in defending Palestinian rights and as a chance to enhance the country’s international standing. In a statement reported from ISLAMABAD, the Pakistan Ulema Council on Sunday framed the invitation as a moral responsibility as well as a diplomatic gain, according to the Ulema council hails. That endorsement may give Shehbaz Sharif political cover at home, but it also raises expectations that Pakistan will use any seat on the board to press for stronger protections for Palestinians and a clearer path to statehood.
Regional stakes, rival invitations, and the money question
Pakistan is not the only South Asian state being courted for this experiment in Gaza governance. The United States has also invited India and Pakistan to participate in the broader peace effort on Gaza, with officials presenting the initiative as a way to bring influential regional powers into a framework that supports peace and security in Gaza. Reporting on the outreach notes that the invitation to India and Pakistan is part of a wider push in which President Trump has asked at least six countries to join the Gaza peace board, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly acknowledged how difficult it has been to complete the second phase of the Gaza peace deal, according to coverage that cites India and Pakistan and remarks by Netanyahu. That dual outreach to rivals underlines Washington’s desire to broaden the board’s legitimacy, but it also introduces the risk that South Asian competition could spill into Gaza policy.